


The Best Misunderstanding

by Miss_Webb



Series: Sparks and Claws [1]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: 16 is age of consent so not really underage but still kind of, Alive Allison, Canon-Typical Violence, Consensual Underage Sex, Dead Laura Hale, Derek has sad puppy eyes, Derek just got back to beacon hills, Drunk Texting, Eventual sexy times, Human Scott McCall, Its like season one characters, M/M, Not gay Stiles or more like he's DerekSexual, Stiles doesn't know how to be considerate of peoples feelings when it comes to death, Stiles first everything, Stiles has short hair, Underage Drinking, more tags to come
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-21
Updated: 2017-01-27
Packaged: 2018-05-15 10:02:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 16
Words: 67,800
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5781826
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miss_Webb/pseuds/Miss_Webb
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sitting in his Jeep in front of a liquor store, freaking out because the guy who wants to buy beer for Lydia, wants to have sex with Stiles in exchange for it, was not how he planned to spend his Friday night.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. "He want's to 'Talk' to you."

Sitting in his Jeep in front of a liquor store, freaking out because the guy who wants to buy beer for Lydia, wants to have sex with Stiles in exchange for it, was not how he planned to spend his Friday night.

_Friday morning_

Stiles woke up to his alarm knocking him out of his very, very good dream starring him, Lydia, and his bed. He groaned as he sat up to turn off the alarm. It must have been going off for a while because it was ten minutes past where he thought he set it. He got out of bed and shivered as his feet touched the cold floor. He ran to the bathroom so he could get a warm shower. Like always he had to wait for the water to warm up, so he bounced from foot to foot as he waited. He heard his father rustling around getting ready for work. Also like always, Stiles took his time when he was finally warm. He spent half the time in the shower not even washing. Just relaxing in the heat of the shower, not looking forward to getting out and into the cold air. But it wasn’t long before his father came knocking telling Stiles to get out and stop wasting water.

After getting out of the shower Stiles made quick work of drying off and getting dressed. Next, he crammed all of his homework into his bag and headed out to his car, but not before saying bye to his dad. After getting to the school, he quickly made his way to his locker sorting his stuff out preparing for his first hour. It wasn’t more than three seconds before Scott was there.

“So, are you coming tonight?” Scott asked. Stiles looked at him confused.

“Coming where?” Stiles asked.

“To Lydia’s, you didn’t get my text?” Stiles pulled his phone out of his pocket. There was a text from Scott. He opened it and read it.

_From Scott: Hey Stiles, Lydia has a guy who is going to score her some booze tonight. Me and Allison are going over to her place tonight, you wanna come?_

The message was sent before he woke up and he hadn’t thought to check his phone after he got up. Stiles thought about going, he didn’t really drink much. He couldn’t. Not with his Adderall, also not to mention his father was the Sheriff and would be able to tell if Stiles drunk anything. The last thing he needed was his father interrogating him on where he got his hands on some alcohol. But he also didn’t want to miss a chance to hang out with Lydia. Ever since Scott started dating Allison, it was like they both scored. Lydia suddenly noticed that he was a living breathing human being. They actually sat at the same lunch table, and because of that, he was able to find out she and Jackson weren’t that serious and honestly, she would leave him in a heartbeat for someone better. That realization in hand, Stiles was able to knock a year of off his five-year plan to get her to fall in love with him, and once she finally considered him a friend he would knock off another year.

“I don’t know Scott. If I came home drunk my dad would know.” He sighed, stuffing his books into his locker.

“You could like take some breath mints after or something.” Scott shrugs, Stiles doesn’t even want to mention how breath mints wouldn’t be enough on their own.

“I also took my Adderall this morning, you’re not supposed to mix the two.”

“It should be fine.” He muses. “Adderall is a stimulant, right, and alcohol is like a depressant. Shouldn’t they just cancel each other out.” Scott smiles brightly as if he just aced a test. Stiles rolled his eyes. He has had this lecture from his doctor and his father too many times to entertain this kind of stupidity.   

“No Scott, that’s not how it works. The only thing that would happen is that it would probably make me too wired to fall asleep, or I won’t be able to tell how drunk I am and then end up killing myself with alcohol poisoning. Only stupid people risk their lives thinking they can take medication and drink and assume nothing bad can happen.” Scott gave him a surprised and disappointed look. He wanted Stiles to come, they did everything together and it wouldn’t be much fun without him. The bell rang before Scott could reply and they both went their separate ways to their classes.

First hour was math, which was easy. Stiles started to feel down knowing that he would miss a chance to have fun with Scott and get closer to Lydia. He really wished he had read the text message before he took his Adderall this morning. His next two classes went by fast. He wasn’t really paying attention to them. He was too busy moving into a full mope that he wouldn’t be able to go. Or if he did it would be weird because he would be the only one not drinking. It would just make the whole situation not cool. Lydia would probably wish he didn’t come and then she would go back to pretending he didn’t exist.

At lunch, Scott bolted over to him happily. “Stiles, I talked to Lydia and she came up with a plan,” Scott said face bursting with pride. It must be some plan if he was so excited and happy about it, then again it was Lydia, so the plan obviously was going to be amazing. He grabbed his lunch and headed over to the table with Scott.

“Okay Stiles, Scott has told me about your problems and I have solved them. For your Adderall situation, we will decide right now how much you will be allowed to drink tonight. What is your usual tolerance? I’m guessing around two beers and one or two shots?” Stiles tried not to blush, it was a horrid affair where his whole face would turn red, even his neck. But Lydia was talking to him. He counted the words, that was the most she talked to him in one setting so far and right now her undivided attention was on him waiting for his answer. 

“Uh, yeah that’s about right.” He said, putting all his willpower into not stuttering. He had a plan to look as cool as possible in front of Lydia at all times. He needed to be better than Jackson. Of course, he was already because of the simple fact that he wasn’t a pompous asshole, but that apparently want enough for Lydia so he was just going to have to step up his game.

He already had plans to get better at lacrosse. Scott promised to help him practice. Sufficed to say, things were looking good from this point. All he had to do was not look like a loser. Which was easier said than done.

“Great so three beers and two shots, then you’re done for the night. As for you father problem… Scott?” Scott perked up and quickly swallowed the piece of pizza he was chewing.

“You are going to stay at my house. My mom is working the night shift so she won’t even be home by the time we get there.” Scott said quickly with a grin. Stiles nodded and thought about their plan making sure they didn’t forget anything.

“How are we getting back to your house? We’ll both be drunk, we can’t drive.”

Scott thought for a moment. “We can walk.”

“Then how are we going to explain that to your mom in the morning? It’s not like I can ask your mom for a lift back to my house, she’s going to want to know why we both didn’t have a ride.” Scott huffed and looked down at the rest of his pizza. Stiles had a point. It would look suspicious, and his mother could totally double as a detective when she thought something was suspicious.

Lydia pursed her lips thinking. The only people coming over were Allison and Scott. Jackson couldn’t make it because they were having a little tiff. She didn’t even remember what it was about. Possibly something about a comment he made on her shoes, or maybe her hair. It didn’t really even matter at the point, the only thing that mattered now was that she wasn’t a third wheel in her own home, Scott insisted Stiles come, and honestly, she didn’t have anyone else she felt like choosing to come. She didn’t really socialize with anyone else in the school. It’s not that she didn’t know anyone, it’s that she didn’t like anyone enough to actually have them over to her house unless it was a large party. This was to be just her and a couple of people. Henry, her dealer didn’t have much to give her tonight. It wasn’t enough to have a party with, and if there was one thing her mother taught her, it was to never drink alone.

“Okay, you can all stay at my place tonight.” She said. Everyone looked up at her surprised. Stiles’ heart stopped. His blood chilled. There was an actual chance he was going to sleep over at The Lydia Martian’s home. Her Actual Home. He would die, this was too much. Spending the night at her house wasn’t on his plan until year three.

“Really? Are you sure you’re okay with that? What’s your mom going to say?” Allison asked, speaking for the first time at lunch. Lydia chuckled.

“She won’t say anything as long as we don’t mess up the carpet. That reminds me, spill anything on the carpet and you are dead.” She said eyeing everyone to threaten them silently and focused on Stiles knowing his clumsy nature. He hid away from the look.

“Okay, so it’s settled. Stiles to fix your Adderall problem you are only allowed three beers and two shots. To fix your dad and transport problem, we’ll all spend the night at Lydia’s house. Is there anything else we need to sort out?” Scott said.

Stiles racked his brain, making a mental checklist.

Father- Check

Transport- Check

Drinking Management- Check

 There was nothing else he could think of that they needed to fix. He would need to make sure to bring a change of clothes to her house so he wouldn’t look too bad the next day considering that he was going to be hung over. He didn’t want his dad to be able to smell anything on him when he got back home either.

“Yeah, I think that’s it,” Stiles replied after double checking his mental checklist. Lydia smiled and if Stiles wasn’t already sitting down his knees would go weak and he would probably fall.

“Okay great, be at my house by seven. Bring blankets.” Lydia said as she stood up and then left the cafeteria. Probably to touch up her makeup like she always does after she eats lunch. Stiles was almost vibrating with happiness, he was going to sleep over at her house. Oh goodness. He was going to hang out with her, not at a party but a friendly get together. They would probably actually get a chance to talk. She could finally see him as an actual certified friend. He was going to be able to knock off two years of his plan in one month. This was great. Good things really do happen in this town.

Soon the bell rang and the rest of the day went by so fast. He was too busy thinking about possible scenarios of how tonight could go that he daydreamed that maybe tonight Lydia would get to know him and realize how awesome he was and then they would fall into an epic love, and yes, the answer to your question is yes. Of course, Taylor Swift: You Belong with Me was playing in the background. Most of her songs really give him inspiration. It’s like she is the messiah for unrequited love-struck teenagers.

Before Stiles knew it, he was home taking another shower, now standing with a towel wrapped around his waist looking at his hair in the mirror. He thinks that if he concentrates hard enough that he can will it to grow faster. Last week Lydia offhandedly mentioned to Stiles that he would probably look good with longer hair. Ever since he has been completely obsessed with finding ways making his hair grow longer. He hasn’t found any miracle yet, so he will just have to wait. Next was obsessing over what to wear. If there was any person to get obsessed over what to wear for, it was Lydia Martin.

He would try on something, think it’s okay for a few seconds. Then take it off because he thought it was horrible. That process repeated over and over again for two hours. His father came home and saw Stiles stressing and tried to help but his father actually knew less about fashion than he did, so it didn’t end well.

He ended up just wearing a normal t-shirt, jeans, and a sweater. Which was basically all he owned. For the first time in his life, he cursed his only casual wardrobe. He had to make a point to go shopping for better clothes. Don’t get him wrong, he always knew to win Lydia’s heart that he would need to step up his clothing choices. It’s just that he didn’t expect to be at this stage this soon.

Stiles looked over at his clock, it was six-thirty, and he quickly whipped out his phone and texted Scott if he was there yet. He didn’t want to be the first one there. Him alone with Lydia equaled making a complete fool of himself and ruining all of his chances.

_To Scott: You over at Lydia’s yet?_

_From Scott: Nope. Waiting outside Allison’s place while she gets ready. Shouldn’t be more than five minutes. You on your way?_

_To Scott: Just about 2 leave. Hurry so I’m not alone with her!_

_From Scott: Dude, if you want her to like you, you eventually will have to be alone with her._

_To Scott: Yeah, I know. ¬_¬ But now isn’t the right time. I'll just make a fool of myself and then she'll never like me._

_From Scott: Sometimes you just have to take a chance. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯_

_To Scott: I know, just not yet._

Stiles put his phone in his back pocket and then grabbed his pillow and one of the spare blankets from the closet before heading out to the Jeep. He would drive slowly, it was about twenty minutes from his house to his. Allison’s house was only five minutes apart from Lydia, so no doubt Scott would get there before him. At least that’s what should have happened if Scott didn’t think himself a love expert ever since he started Dating Allison, even though she’s his first girlfriend.

Stiles got to Lydia’s house and she was on the porch waiting for him. Before he could even take the key out of the ignition she hopped into the car.

“Scott and Allison are going to be a little while, wardrobe troubles, so you are coming with me really quick to get the drinks. For some reason, Henry didn’t deliver it here so we are going to go find him.” Stiles nodded his head rapidly and started his Jeep back up.

“Uhm, where to?” He asked realizing he had no idea where to find Henry. He had never even met the guy and has no idea what he does, or what he looks like. 

“The liquor store down the street, on the first right.” She answered. It was a really quick ride over. Once parked in front of the store Lydia unbuckled her seat belt and put her hand on the door handle before she stopped and turned to Stiles. “Just stay in the car, I'll be right back.” Then she got out and headed inside the liquor store. She was in there for about thirty seconds before she came back out. But she didn’t come over to the car. She stayed on the sidewalk in front of the store and pulled out her phone and made a call to someone.

Stiles was crap at reading lips so he could only guess what was going on through her body language. Something was wrong, and she wasn’t happy about it. She was angry, one arm was crossed under the elbow of the one holding her phone to her ear. She wasn’t yelling but she looked like she wanted to. He didn’t know who she was on the phone with but he guessed it was Henry. She then violently hit the end button on her phone, before she was even able to take a step towards the jeep she stopped and turned to her left. Stiles looked over to see what she was looking at, and there was a guy walking up to her.

The guy was tall and sketchy. He had a very short beard that was just a little fuller than regular stubble and was wearing a black leather jacket and sunglasses. Who wears sunglasses at night? Sketchy people, that’s who! Lydia and the guy talked for about five minutes. Twice this guy has pointed at Stiles’ jeep. He wondered what they were talking about. This presumably was Henry, right? I mean would she really have a conversation with a stranger in front of a liquor store in the middle of the night?

“Nah….” Stiles said to himself trying to maybe pick up the slightest inkling of the situation. Lydia turns to the Jeep and walks over and gets in.

Once she’s in the car she takes a deep breath and looks at Stiles with a look he can’t put his finger on. He has never seen that look, and he made sure to catalog in his brain all the classical Lydia Martin facial expressions. He decided to speak not liking the silence.

“So uh, is that Henry?” He asked looking out at the windshield at the guy who was still standing there looking at the jeep.

“No, actually.” She starts, hesitating. “That’s a random guy who heard me on the phone yelling at Henry and offered to by us some drinks…” Stiles was surprised at that. No one just offers to buy minors alcohol for no reason. Stiles would say he’s probably an undercover cop, but he knows all the cops in Beacon Hills and he isn’t one of them, and it isn’t like they would get some guy from another town to do a sting operation on underage drinking. As far as the town is concerned no one does it. No one has really been caught, the one or two that have just gone home without even a slap on the wrist. Which meant the sketchy status on this guy just went up even higher.

“So, he just offered to buy you alcohol? What does he want?” There was no way this guy was about to risk jail time just to help a teenage girl look cool in front of her friends because she got booze for her party.

“Well like I said he heard me talking and he offered to help. He said he would buy us some on two conditions…” Conditions, Stiles knew it. Now what were the conditions was the problem. Whatever they were they were making her hesitate. Nothing makes her hesitate.

“What are the conditions?” Stiles said getting worried. This guy was a creeper so it probably involved sex that must be what it was! This guy was a pedophile that like teenage girls.

“Well, the first is that I give him the money for it, which is a normal thing in these situations.” Lydia stopped like she wasn’t going to say anymore, but then she did. “You know what, we don’t even need to drink tonight. We can just do this next week. Henry will be back by then. That was the problem by the way. He went out of town and forgot to tell me.” Lydia said subtly changing the subject subtly. Lydia was good at conversation, she could manipulate words the right way to get what she wanted. But Stiles knew Lydia wanted to drink tonight. She had anger in her words when she talked about Henry. Stiles still wanted to know the second condition. Even if they weren’t going to do anything about it, he was curious.

“What’s the second condition?”

“He wants to… ‘talk’ to you.” Lydia said. Stiles’ brain stopped. All thinking, all movement ceased. He blinked and then tried to replay what she said in his head, but he wasn’t sure he heard her right.

“I’m sorry, what?”

“He said he wants to ‘talk’ to you,” Lydia said rolling her eyes. The annoyance wasn’t at Stiles, it was at the statement. ‘Talking’ to Stiles was just code for, sex. Normally this wouldn’t be a problem for Lydia. After all, she was a master of manipulation, a little flirting here, a couple of sensual touches there and the guy would do anything for her. But he didn’t want her. He wanted Stiles.

Virgin Stiles.

Awkward Stiles.

Barley drinking tonight Stiles.

Lydia wouldn’t normally care about pimping out someone for something she wanted she would do it herself normally and so she doesn’t have any sympathy for others in that type of situation, but Stiles? Stiles was like a different breed, he was smart, but underestimated because of his ADHD and awkwardness. He doesn’t excel at sports but he doesn’t really need to. Most guys who are good at sports are doing it because they aren’t book smart, they need something to work out anger issues, or are trying to overcompensate for something. Stiles and Scott are two of the rare few that do it just for fun.

Lydia appreciated Stiles, she had never spoken to him before because they didn’t travel in the same circles of social stature, but Scotts jump from loser status by dating Allison had somehow also pulled Stiles up as well. She always knew him, like she knows everyone, it was basically her job, but now she knew him knew him. She knows he eats enough for three. She knows he is clumsy and yet surprisingly durable. She knows he has a sharp wit and instantaneous sarcasm. But he was still just a babe. Not yet ready for the real world. High school is like purgatory, its mean, it’s rough. But the real world is hell. Where everyone just wants to use you for one thing or another. The main two are money and sex, and this guy wanted sex, from Stiles. She looked over at him and was surprised by the look on his face. She expected fear, disgust, even anger. But his face was of pure confusion. His eyes were moving around and his mouth opened a little and moved as if he was talking to himself. But no words were coming out of his mouth.

“What?” Lydia asked Stiles’ head snapped over looking at her as if she just pulled him out of a trance. But then he gave a half smile and huffed.

“I thought he wanted like sex or something, the way you were making it seem to hesitate at stuff. But if all he wants to do is talk then its okay I’ll go talk to him.” Stiles said unbuckling his seat belt. Lydia grabbed his arm as he reached for the door.  “What?” he asked.

“Stiles! ‘Talk’ is a code for sex or sexual favors!” She said after realizing that he didn’t understand. Of course, he didn’t like she thought he was still just a babe and he was too pure for these situations. Stiles’ face scrunched up in disgust.

“What!? That guy wants to have sex with me?” Looking over at the guy. He had his head in his hands and was almost facepalming. Stiles didn’t know why the guy was. Maybe he just realized he was a pedophile for wanting sex with a sixteen-year-old boy.

“Yes Stiles, how could you not get that?” Lydia asked hoping he could explain his lack of common sense. Innocent or not, you should know all strangers should be considered pedophiles until proven otherwise.

“Well, I thought that until you said he wanted to ‘talk’” Stiles said making air quotes with his fingers.

“Well, that is the nice way of putting it!” She exclaimed.

“No, it’s not, that is the confusing way of putting it. How about just start with ‘Stiles, that guy wants sexual favors from you in exchange for buying booze for us underage kids’. Gosh! I thought maybe he wanted to talk to me and make sure I wasn’t a cop or something. That is a normal thing to assume, isn’t it!? That they want to make sure no one is a witness to a crime. It would be the smart thing to do. Cops are lurking all the time, I would give him lots and lots of credit if he was paranoid. But no, he’s not paranoid, he doesn’t even look the slightest bit worried. Like this is just a normal Friday. He probably does this often. Oh my god! What if he is like a serial rapist-killer! Oh my god! He’s seen my face! My car! My license plate! It’s too late for me. Lydia run, save yourself, tell my dad I love him. Tell Scott to delete my internet history. Actually, scratch that, just tell him to destroy the hard drive and throw the pieces in separate trash cans. Oh My Gosh, Oh My Gosh, this is how it ends. No one will remember me, the four people that will always know me as the victim of the sunglasses rapist.” Stiles was hyperventilating by the end of the rant, only stopping because he didn’t have enough air to continue. Lydia took this opportunity to calm him and keep him from ranting again.

“Stiles, it’s okay calm down. You don’t even need to worry, you are the son of the Sheriff he would be a fool to come after you, okay? Just stop freaking out. Like I said before let’s just do this next week. We can just go back, okay? Let’s just go meet up with Allison and Scott.” Lydia was talking to Stiles like he was a baby. Her voice seemed full of pity. Like he was crazy and needed to be talked off a ledge. Stiles was suddenly filled with the feeling that he had just messed up his chances big time. She probably thought he was a crazy wimp. That she should feel sorry for him because he’s so weird and challenged. Stiles didn’t want pity, he wanted to look cool, and like a hero, he wanted to be considered a friend of hers, and maybe eventually someone she liked, and then possibly loved.

Not some pathetic boy who freaked out about something like sex with a stranger. Stiles knew Lydia, he basically has stalked her since the second grade. He knows that if the position was switched she would have sex with that guy. He knew that she probably wouldn’t judge anybody for doing it, and if she did, it would be the good kind of judging. She would accept them into her circle because they were the same. Stiles needed to earn back the manhood he dropped when he started rambling. So, before he could talk himself out of it he jumped out of the car and walked over to the mysterious sunglasses guy.

He heard Lydia call his name but he moved quickly and didn’t look back. Stiles couldn’t see the guy’s eyes but he could see that his eyebrows had raised high and could be mistaken as a false hairline. Stiles' hands were shaking and he was scared and full of regret, he shouldn’t have come over here. This guy really could be a killer. He could also have AIDs or any other STDs. Stiles was sure the guy didn’t have a condom and biased on his creeper status he would be anything but gentle. Also, he would probably enjoy knowing Stiles was a virgin. Stiles opened his mouth to speak but words failed him. What should he say? What does anyone say in this situation? Thankfully the guy decided to speak.

“First I just want to clarify really quickly that I in no way intended to have sex with you tonight.” Stiles was confused by the comment at first and then assumed that this guy must only want and blowjob or something. He wasn’t going to be happy to find out that Stiles has exactly zero experience with them. Giving or getting. Stiles got even more worried than he was before. How would this guy act not get a good blowjob? Would he force Stiles? Would he beat him up? The guy sighed at his own words. “Gosh that sounded bad, I mean that I don’t want to do anything sexual to you… right now.” Now it was Stiles’ turn to sigh. That barely gave him any relief. This guy wanted to cash in his sexual favor at a later date. At least he wouldn’t have to do this with Lydia sitting in the car waiting for him. The guy rolled his eyes and growled. Like honestly growled. Stiles almost turned around thinking there was a wild animal around him somewhere before he noticed that it came from the guy. Stiles took a step back and the guy took off his sunglasses and rubbed his eyes.

Stiles got a look at his face and instantly the creeper status melted away. This guy was hot! But you know…. Stiles only noticed it in a completely non-gay way. Like dudes can appreciate other dudes faces. Anyway, fear slowly started to leave him. The guy seemed stressed about the situation and now that Stiles had seen his face if anything went wrong he would have something for a sketch artist. It’s like the guy taking off his sunglasses was offering Stiles he didn’t have before.

“Okay, can I just like completely explain myself really quickly here?” The guy asked. Stiles didn’t say anything he just nodded. “Okay, so I’m walking down the sidewalk on my way home and I happen to turn the corner here and see you in your car. I think you’re really cute, but I don’t exactly know how to start a conversation with you while you’re in your car. I see your redhead friend-” Stiles wants to interrupt, and correct with Strawberry blond but doesn’t. “-come out of your car and I hear her problem. So I see my chance to start talking to you. So I offer to buy you two beer if you just get out of the car and we talk. I do not want sex or sexual favors in exchange for beer. I simply wanted to ask you if you were single and if I can have your number. I’m sorry my words were badly worded and it made me seem like a sex offender. And I know it’s weird to wear sunglasses at night, but these are actually prescription and I lost my normal glasses. I only normally wear these on sunny days. Most of the time I actually wear contacts, and this is not a normal Friday for me. I have never bought alcohol for minors before, and I honestly don’t plan on doing it again. But I kind of want to make a good first impression with you, although that’s already shot to shit.” The guy said, sighing after saying it all, and the stress seemed to pour off of him.

Stiles’ face was a burning red with his blush. It felt like his entire body was blushing. This guy just said that he thought he was cute and wanted his phone number. The only person that had called him cute before was Ms. McCall, and his mother. His father always insisted he was handsome. But this, a stranger, a hot stranger. Stiles then suddenly burst out laughing. This was ridiculous, he had just almost had a panic attack in his jeep for nothing. He had actually considered the fact that he might die tonight and this was all just an awkward way to get his phone number. The guy stood there not knowing how to react. He didn’t know if Stiles was laughing with him or at him. He did just make a complete fool of himself. Sties looked up at him and wiped tears from his eyes.

“Oh goodness. Can you believe I was actually scared for my life? Oh, this is just perfect” Stiles chuckles. The guy relaxes a little, Stiles is laughing at himself. That’s better he guessed. He smiled looking at Stiles’ smile. He could tell just from his laugh that Stiles must be a pretty fun guy. That laugh has some experience with it, some history, a freedom almost like he does it often. Stiles takes deep breaths forcing himself to calm down and then walks over to his jeep. The guy gets worried for a moment. Stiles is walking away, and he doesn’t even know his name or have any way to contact him. But he relaxes when he walks over to the passenger door to get Lydia, and she gets out of the car and asks Stiles what’s going on and he tells her the whole story and then she’s laughing. Then they both walk back over to the guy and Lydia hands him about forty dollars cash, and gives him a list of what drinks she wants and then tells him to use the rest to get some candy and stuff. The guy goes in and gets everything she specified and some gummy bears, skittles, and M&M’s. He comes out and Lydia immediately grabs the drinks and quickly makes her way to Stiles’ jeep. Stiles stays behind and the guy looks at him confused. This is sort of the part where you make a break for it. The last thing they needed was to be seen by someone.

Stiles gave a shy smile. “You uh, wanted my number?” Stiles said, and the guy smiled, of course, he almost forgot. That was the only reason he just did something completely illegal. He pulled his phone out of his back pocket and unlocked it then handed it to Stiles to put his contact in, and Stiles copied the action giving the guy his phone. After they gave the phones back Stiles quickly made his way to his jeep giving the guy a little wave goodbye then driving off. Still, in front of the liquor store, Derek thumbed through his contacts looking at the new addition. “Stiles.” He said to himself with a smile so big it almost hurt. That kid was totally worth making a fool of himself over.

Stiles opened his phone and looked at the new contact. “Derek,” Stiles said to himself looking at the name. He smiled. He didn’t know why he was straight, and if he continued this in any way it could have serious repercussions on his ever number changing year plan to get Lydia to fall in love with him. Lydia then snatched the phone from his hands giving him a look like he was stupid.

“We are minors in possession of alcohol that we shouldn’t be in possession of! Please try not to do anything to get pulled over. You can stare at the name once we get back to my house. Stiles still smiled though, this was singlehandedly the best misunderstanding he had ever been in.


	2. Was everything that he had done and was willing to do, to have her, to date her, and one day possibly marry her... Worth it?

The drive back to Lydia’s house was just as short as it was leaving. They didn’t speak about anything on the way back. Lydia looking out the window and Stiles lost in thought, smiling blissfully.

He felt flustered, or flattered, or just in awe. He’s not sure which word fits is feeling the most but he’s happy damn it. He’s never felt this giddy, stupid with smiles. He’s never been on this side of a situation before. No one ever liked him or flirted with him, no one ever sought him out. This was new territory and he wasn’t sure how to handle it. 

He’s pulling himself out of his thoughts as soon as their parked. Then he’s hopping out of the car, struggling to grab all of his stuff and the drinks. Trying to make sure Lydia doesn’t end up carrying everything. Probably not the best idea with glass and drinks, but it ends up alright as he’s wrapping the blanket around his arm, stuffing his pillow under his right armpit. Grabbing the candy and drinks with his left-hand. Lydia could probably have handled the drinks just fine but he was trying to seem like a gentleman. Any and all points mattered to make himself seem a better option than Jackson.

 Scott and Allison pull up a couple of seconds later. Stiles huffed looking to the ground. It was Scott's fault that whole situation happened. It would have all went differently if Scott and Allison tagged along with them or had even just been at the house when he arrived.

Stiles wasn’t sure if that was a good or bad thing yet.

Nothing bad had actually happened to Stiles. He did have a minor freak out. Well, it wasn’t minor but compared his normal level of freak out on a daily basis, one could categorize it as minor. It was all completely harmless in the end. Stiles thought back on all the events and wanted to laugh. Now knowing the context all the way through it was really funny, might even make a great story to tell one day.

What he didn’t laugh at, was the fact Derek really wanted his number. That he thought Stiles was cute, and cute counts as attractive, so Danny can suck it, because he is attractive to gay guys! He couldn’t wait to rub that in his face.

His thoughts began to shift slightly, a question popping into his head. Was he attracted to gay guys? Was he attracted to any guys at all? He’s never actually given that any thought. While multiple times he’s sought out opinions on how he looked to others, he never considered how they looked to him.

He’s been in love with Lydia since he knew what love was. He never bothered to look in any other direction. He wondered what that meant for him, and Derek. Was he ever going to text him? Was Derek ever going to message him, or maybe even call? Were they ever going to see each other again?

That was a dumb question, Beacon Hills was a small place, and unless he lived all the way out in the preserve he was probably going to see him often. Yet, Stiles hadn’t ever seen Derek before, so who knew?

Maybe Derek would wake up tomorrow and forget any of it ever happened, all being just some fluke, or a strange Friday, never following up on it. The big question was if that happened, would Stiles be hurt, or feel relieved.

“Stiles?” Scott called out from the inside of Lydia’s doorway. Lydia had already unlocked the door, she and Allison already inside. He didn’t notice because he was too wrapped up in his thoughts. He shut the door to his jeep and made his into the house. He passed Scott coming out as he took one step in and then took a deep breath. He tried etching this moment into his brain. He was right now inside of Lydia Martins home. He looked around the house as if he had never seen it before. Of course, he had, Lydia had many parties but he had never seen her house so clean and empty. It was really like seeing it for the first time. No blasting music, no high school students running around crashing into each other with their drunken stature. No sweaty bodies. No smell of vomit and over sprayed perfume. Just Lydia’s home. Lydia walked up to him and took the drinks from him because he was talking too long.

“I’m just going to grab these. Don’t want to wait forever to get this started. You almost gave your virginity for this.” Lydia said with a laugh, as she walked away towards the living room. Stiles smiled and blushed in embarrassment once again thinking back to how he panicked.

“You almost gave what?” Scott asked as he walked back into the house carrying his and Allison’s blankets. Stiles avoided the question and quickly walking past him, and dropping his blanket on the couch.

It’s basic sleep-over survival. Claim a couch quickly or you’ll end up on the floor.

There’s only the couch and the loveseat, he doubts the armchair will be comfortable enough to sleep in. So two of them are going to have to take the floor. He doubts Lydia will end up on the floor, so that left Scott and Allison. Whatever. They probably preferred to be cuddled up anyway. They always do. It’s sickening.

Lydia had left the drinks on the coffee table in the living room and made her way to the kitchen to grab everyone cups. She also grabbed some napkins. Better safe than ending up with dead bodies to hide, because she will make good on killing if they mess the carpet up.

Stiles dropped down on the couch, opening his phone again to thumb over the contact, going back into deep thoughts about Derek. Just thinking of his name seemed to open a burst of questions in his mind. He wanted to know how old Derek was. He could be any age twenty-one and up. He didn’t see much of the guys face because he was wearing glasses most of the night, and then there was the fact that it was dark out and it was a little hard to guess someone’s age in the dark, especially when most of their face is covered in a beard. He thought about his beard, there wasn’t any grey hair, so that was a plus. But then Stiles thought on how easily he could have dyed it. A lot of people dye their hair once they start getting the greys. Then Stiles sighed, there were way too many questions floating around in his head. His mind kept going back to trying to picture what it all meant. He had Derek’s phone number, and Derek had his. What was going to happen? How was he going to react to whatever happens? What if it’s bad? What if it’s good? Stiles was borderline obsessing about it.

Scott had just finished setting down his blanket and getting comfortable on the floor next to Allison. He had heard what Lydia said to Stiles earlier and wanted to know more about it.

“So Stiles...” Scott said snapping Stiles out of his deep thinking.

“Yeah?” Stiles asked worried that he may have missed something Scott said. He was thinking so deeply he almost forgot there were other people in the room.

“What did Lydia mean earlier? When she said you almost gave your virginity for the drinks.” Stiles' eyes widened, and Lydia who was starting to rip open the six pack of beers smiled. After Stiles hesitated and showed signs of trying to dodge the question she stepped in. This story was too good not to be shared.

“Oh, I just meant how this guy offered to buy us these drinks as long as he could talk to Stiles.” Lydia said. She looked over at Stiles whose face completely screamed traitor at her. Allison’s eyes widened.

“Wait, do you mean ‘talk’ talk, or like ‘talk’ talk?” Lydia’s smile widened. This is why Allison was her friend. Other than her good taste in clothing. She thought like Lydia and she was brave and confident. Scott looked confused.

“I don’t understand… what’s the difference between ‘talk’ talk, and ‘talk’ talk.” He said using his hands to make the air quotes. Allison looked over at Scott, playful pity on her face.

“Well, it either just means talking, or flirting/sex. In the context that Lydia it was most likely sex.” Allison explained and every feature on Scott's face widened in surprise.

“Dude, you had sex with some guy for booze!?” Scott asked full of shock and horror. Stiles shuck his head violently.

“No! I didn’t I swear, all he wanted to do was talk, he just wanted to ask me for my number because he thought I was cute!” Stiles said quickly in his defense. Scott visibly deflated in relief, and Lydia smirked.

“But he didn’t know that before he jumped out of the car and walked straight over to him. He was fully prepared to give it all up.” She said enjoying the reactions she got from the three.

“Dude! Are you serious!?” Scott said. Allison just opened her mouth in shock and looked at him, and Stiles’ face turned completely red. Lydia was totally throwing him under the bus. He didn’t know what to say. It was true. He was totally ready to do anything with that guy. That was bad, really bad. Why would anyone do that? He didn’t even like to drink that much. It wasn’t about the drinks, it was about Lydia.

That was a serious wake-up call for Stiles. If anyone ever asked him exactly how far he would go to get Lydia he would have said he would do anything, but it would have been an unspoken understanding that it was anything within reason. He couldn’t name every single thing he would do for Lydia. But now he knew. Now he knew that he almost did worst case scenario. Most people would think that worst case scenario would be to die for Lydia. But he was the son of a cop. A cop who goes outside of his house every day ready to die for someone else. So, dying for someone would never be worst case scenario for Stiles. That was something he saw as heroic.

But sex with a random stranger for booze was definitely a worst-case scenario. He thought about it, he was really going to, he almost did, if that wasn’t a misunderstanding and it was some creeper who wanted sex, he was going to do it. Just to get on Lydia’s good side, to make her happy, to supply her with alcohol. Stiles asked himself a question he never thought to ask himself before. Was everything that he had done and was willing to do, to have her, to date her, and one day possibly marry her… worth it? The answer chilled him to the core, it made him rethink his life from the moment he saw her. The moment he decided he loved her. All the people he brushed off and didn’t even attempt looking at or considering because it was always her. She was his whole world and he never asked himself was she worth it. He added everything together, her personality, her beauty, her past, her possible future, he added it up, and the answer was no. It wasn’t worth it.

The saddest part of it all was that it would never even begin to bother Lydia as much as it hurt Stiles. If she noticed- no, there was no way she wouldn’t. Years of ignoring all his attempts couldn’t have been genuine. If it was, then she simply didn’t care enough to notice, which is just as bad. All at once he realized he’d spent years of his life pining for a girl he’d never have.

Stiles wasn’t delusional, even with all his planning, he’s prepared himself for the inevitable let down of it not working. He often fought that with positive thoughts but he always knew there was a high chance of her never even speaking to him directly. Even now that it’d happened, with hope springing up, he still knew somewhere in his head that it wouldn’t. But it was like playing the lottery. You put your dollar in because it was worth the risk. Worth the dream. That’s what Stiles would always say before, all the planning was worth it.

But no, now it wasn’t.

The imaginary future he built for himself crumbled right before his eyes. The things he did to put himself in a better position to be with her lost all meaning. Stiles had always had the goal of getting Lydia. What would he do now that he didn’t have a goal? An all-consuming goal that he could wrap his entire world around. Something he could truly focus on. Something not too easy, but also not unattainable.

He stopped all thoughts on that. It was a dark path he was headed with those thoughts and he wasn’t sure he could handle what he was going to find at the end.  He just needed out of his head before he exploded.

He needed to drink.

He didn’t know if he was feeling sad, happy, free, broken. Everything was just a huge mix of emotions and he didn’t know which would surface if he didn’t take control. He quickly grabbed a beer off the table where Lydia had set them as she moved on to opening the whiskey, and the vodka. Scott and Allison had already take one of their own beers off the table. Three had been set in front of Stiles from which he grabbed and Lydia was currently pouring him two shots worth of vodka into a glass she brought from the kitchen.

He absently wondered why she knew exactly how much of vodka was enough for shots, but then rolled his eyes because of course, she knew. She had a dealer for Christ sake.

He quickly chugged the first beer, then the second, then the third, and then he moved onto the glass of vodka and quickly drained it. Stiles looked up at everyone, to find all eyes on him. Scott had already been looking at him before because he’d yet to get an actual answer. Allison and Lydia had moved onto their own conversation but were drawn by the chugging.

“What?” he said after a minute of silence and everyone still looking at him.

“You drank all of that really fast and you’re not allowed to have any more,” Lydia said. Stiles looked over at her and realized how right she was. He shouldn’t have drunk so fast now for the rest of the night he will have to watch them get drunk until he is able to fall asleep. He shrugged his shoulders and just accepted it. Not like he could do anything about it now. With the shrug, Lydia also made a face like she accepted it and then poured herself a shot.

The rest of the night was actually really fun. They did a version of spin the bottle where whoever the bottle landed on, they would have to take a drink of Stiles’ choosing. They also spent way too much time trying to throw gummy bears and M&M’s into each other’s mouths. They did Karaoke which Stiles recorded with his phone and would use the videos to blackmail the three of them for the rest of their lives. Stiles was level-headed for most of the night, he felt as if he didn’t have anything to drink for a while like maybe he drunk a red bull instead of three beers and two shots worth of vodka. But halfway through the night, he started to feel it hit him. First, it was a little bit of dizziness and lightheadedness, then he felt a little buzz in his stomach and the rest is history. The last thing he remembered was Lydia making another joke about Stiles and Derek in front of the liquor store.

-

Stiles woke up the next day as he was halfway through falling off the couch. When he hit the ground he was momentarily stunned from the fall but then picked himself back up and laid back down on the couch completely prepared to fall back asleep when his phone vibrated in between the couch cushions. Afraid that it might be his dad he quickly shoved his hands in between the cushions in search of it. When he finally found it he unlocked his phone with maximum speed and checked his messages. Only one from his dad that said there was take out in the fridge for him whenever he got home. Thank God! But… Oh no. He scrolled down and saw there were messages Derek. That wasn’t a bad thing, it wasn’t ‘oh no’ level. But however, three unread messages from Derek was ‘oh no’ worthy. He opened the contact and his messages and at first was confused.

 

_From Derek: Just checking did you fall asleep?_

_From Derek: …_

_From Derek: Okay, good night text me tomorrow to make sure you're alive._

After reading the messages in confusion Stiles looked up and saw something that made his heart want to stop beating. The ‘previous messages’ icon. No, no, no. He must have drunk texted Derek. He quickly tapped on it and read the messages.

 

_To Derek: I wanna dnce!_

_From Derek: Oh, I don’t really know any dances but it sounds nice._

_To Derek: WE DON’T HAVE TO TAKE OUR CLOTHES OFF TO HAVE A GOOF TIME WE COILD DANCW AND PAETY ALL NIGHR!_

_From Derek: That’s a pretty old song_

_To Derek: You a pretty old song_

_To Derek: how old are you_

_To Derek: I bet like 34_

_From Derek: I’m 25._

_To Derek: Your moms 25. Ha._

_From Derek: Don’t drink too much, your redhead friend asked for some pretty strong stuff._

_To Derek: ITS STRABERRY BLONF!! ASN THEY WNT LET ME DRINFK ANY MOROE!!_

_From Derek: Why not?_

_To Derek: CUZ MY ADDERALL!!!_

_To Derek: HiW DO I TURN OFF CAPS!!!_

_To Derek: IT WONT GO OFF_

_To Derek: Neber minf I gof it._

_From Derek: You take Adderall? You shouldn’t be drinking!_

_To Derek: I’m FINE. Lydia gabe me a limit. 3 bears and two dhots. But I wanr more!!_

_From Derek: That’s still not safe._

_To Derek: It’s not dafe to give 25 yearolfs my numver, but yoy didn’f mind._

_From Derek: Are you driving anywhere tonight, do you have a designated driver?_

_To Derek: NO, Im sleeping ober._

_From Derek: Okay that’s good._

_To Derek: your face is good_

_To Derek: NO its warm_

_To Derek: not warm, it’s the oyher word_

_To Derek: The warm word_

_To Derek: Hot!_

_To Derek: yourface is hot_

_From Derek: Thank you. You’re not so bad yourself._

_To Derek: I’m not hot. I’m cute!! You saif so._

_From Derek: That is true you are cute, very cute._

_To Derek: Like on a scale of 1 to 100 hoq cutr am i?_

_From Derek: 100._

_To Derek: Have you ever killed anyone? Are you really 25? Do you have a record? What are your intentions with Stiles?_

_From Derek: No, I have never killed anyone. I am really 25. I don’t have a record. And I guess I want to date him. Who is this?_

_To Derek: This is Scott his very protective best friend. And if you hurt him I will hunt you down, Derek. If that is your real name!_

_To Derek: Scoft stole my phobe then hid in the bethfroom. Sorry._

_From Derek: that’s okay._

_To Derek: I have to pee_

_From Derek: Then go pee, and then go to sleep._

_To Derek: but I don’r wanna bresk the seal, if I don’t then I will need to kerp usung the bathiroom_

_From Derek: that’s only if you keep drinking. Just go and you will be fine_

_To Derek: Finr, but ig it anythign goes wrong I holf you resopnsiable._

_From Derek: What exactly would go wrong?_

_To Derek: Let me pee!!_

_From Derek: Okay sorry._

_To Derek: Do you beliebe in mermsids?_

_From Derek: I believe in sleep, you should get some._

_To Derek: I not tired._

_From Derek: Okay try this, lay down on where ever you planned on sleeping_

_To Derek: the couch_

_From Derek: Okay, lay down on the couch._

_To Derek: okey im laying on the couch_

_From Derek: Okay close your eyes and just stay there_

_To Derek: why_

_From Derek: Just do it._

_From Derek: Just checking did you fall asleep?_

_From Derek: …_

_From Derek: Good night text me tomorrow to make sure you're alive._

Stiles was mortified, groaning into his pillow. There goes all the questioning of who was going to text who.

Just going out and drunk texting. He hated everything about everything. Cursing life, he wished Lydia or Allison would have taken his phone, not Scott considering he decided to make everything worse and question the guy.

He looked at the messages and huffed again. Why was this is life? Out of all the contacts in his phone, why did he choose Derek’s? Life was unfair.

took his phone so he didn’t drunk text but now it was too late. Out of all the people in his contacts he had to text him. Drunk texting his father would have been less embarrassing. Actually, it would have been worse because his father would have probably come and picked him up and grounded him. Then tell everyone parents about it, and possibly get Derek arrested if he found out he bought them drinks. So less embarrassing yes but more trouble. He sighed. At least the guy was nice and didn’t tell him to fuck off or anything. He actually seemed a little worried. But that could just be because he didn’t want the alcohol poisoning of a teenager weighing down on his conscience. None the less Stiles felt like he should text the guy since he asked him to. He quickly tapped his message in a sent it.

To Derek: Hey, sorry for texting you last night, I don’t normally drunk text or anything so I didn’t think to have someone take my phone.

Stiles put his phone down on the couch and looked around the living room. Allison and Scott, we fast asleep cuddling under their shared blankets and Lydia was snuggled up on the loveseat snoring quietly. Stiles looked at her, the girl he had been chasing for what was basically forever. It was really strange coming to the conclusion that everything he did wasn’t worth it. Worth her. He hears people talk about the friend zone and how it’s so bad, but Stiles never even had that. Up until recently, he wasn’t even a person she deemed worth talking too. How could he have stayed in love with her for so long? After all the times he tried talking to her, and after every single day that went by and it was like he didn’t exist. Maybe it wasn’t that he was exceptionally in love with her. Maybe he was just really used to people not seeing him, not talking to him. Scott and his father were really the only people he socialized with. So maybe Stiles isn’t crazy or stupid. He’s just used to being unimportant and other people’s lives.

His attention was snapped over to his phone when it vibrated. He unlocked it and read the text message just sent by Derek.

_From Derek: Oh, that’s no problem. I have no right to judge when I’m the one who gave you the alcohol._

Stiles read the message and didn’t know how to respond. He felt awkward, and it’s not like the message left a whole lot of room to continue on. Why did texting suddenly seem so stressful? Oh yeah, that amazing thing called anxiety.  He took a deep breath and tried to just calm himself mentally. It was fine, this was fine. He just needed to maybe change the subject or something. Don’t overthink it.

_To Derek: So apparently I’m a 100 in cuteness_

F _rom Derek: Apparently, my face is warm, oh wait, Hot._

_To Derek: Haha, I was drunk when I said that what’s your excuse?_

_From Derek: I don’t have one, you are just really cute._

_To Derek: Well, you are hot. In a guy way_

Stiles felt physically unable not to add that last part. Everything just felt wrong, and he was unsure of what was and wasn’t okay. He didn’t even know if he was gay, or bisexual, or whatever other sexualities there are, and he wasn’t ready to commit to anything just yet. He wasn’t able to.

Objectively, he had no issue stating someone’s attractiveness, man or woman. Derek especially. He was very attractive, he was hot as hell. Stiles told him so while he was drunk last night.

But with his inhibitions back, he wasn’t so comfortable just saying it anymore. Now that there was a number and flirting suddenly it was no longer objective and he didn’t know how to do it when it wasn’t objective. He didn’t really know what it was like to be attracted to someone short of completely obsessing over them. He had only met Derek last night and they barely even talked. The only reason he knows that’s his name is that he put it on the contact on his phone. He would need to know more about Derek before he did anymore debating about his sexuality.

That seemed like the mature and smart answer.

When Derek didn’t respond five minutes later Stiles decided that he probably wasn’t going to anytime soon and closed his phone. Sighing. He probably scared him off with the ‘in a guy way’ but that’s just where Stiles is at right now.

Stiles needed time to think.

Think about what he likes, what he wants. What it meant to want different things. If it would change anything. Even with all things figured out emotionally, could he really date Derek? He’s older. Not gross older. But older enough that it’s barely legal. In his dad’s eyes not legal at all. Stiles wasn’t allowed to date until he was thirty according to his dad. Something that wasn’t actually an issue considering Stiles’ was only showing interest in a girl who didn’t breathe the same air as him. 

Meaning, if this did go somewhere, Stiles would have to be sneaking around. Not that it was the first time Stiles did something he wasn’t supposed to behind his father’s back. He was a teenager, who constantly made dumb shit, it happens.

Most importantly Stiles wanted to know if Derek would be worth it. Because he wasn’t ready to waste any more time of his life doing things for someone who won’t even care.


	3. “I’m saying you need new clothes. Better clothes. You know what, let’s go to the mall you need a serious makeover.”

Stiles sat up on the couch and looked around. Right now, he’s got two pressing matters. He was hungry, and he wasn’t sure if he should eat any of the food in Lydia’s kitchen. Not that she’s sure he wants to. Everything in their either grew on a tree or out of the ground.

He wanted something artificially flavored, with lots of sugar and carbs, possibly deep fried. Sadly, looking around Lydia’s kitchen one would think she’s allergic to happiness in the form of food.

He could almost hear the take-out at home calling his name. It was probably curly fries and a burger. Oh gosh, a burger sounded so good right now. Maybe they wouldn’t notice if he just stepped out and went home really quickly. It’s not like he was obligated to stay, was he? They would all probably be hung over with headaches and would appreciate that he silently left the house not disturbing their sleep. They probably wouldn’t be up for a while anyway. It was still pretty early. The sun was just coming up and everything outside was orange.

So quietly, he wrapped up his blanket, and grabbed his pillow, tiptoeing out the door.

Stiles quietly picked up his blanket and phone and tiptoed out of the house. He was as silent as possible with the doors as he opened and closed them. He sat in the Jeep debating texting them that he was leaving or not. He decided not to since it would probably wake them up and he could just text them later and explain. He started the engine, backed out of the driveway and was home before he knew it.

He used his key to unlock the door since his father was already at the station. Debating on whether or not to wash his blanket or just leave it on the floor in his room where he got it from before was his next thing to do. He decided to wash his blanket and clothes. He wasn’t sure if his clothes smelled like alcohol or not and with a cop father you could never be too careful with hiding things. Especially illegal things, like underage drinking. After throwing his clothes and blanket in the washer he went upstairs to take a shower. Afterward, he brushed his teeth, three times. Just to be safe. Then he got dressed in sweatpants and a tee shirt, grabbed his blanket and clothes out of the washing machine and put them in the dryer. Then finally got to see this glorious take-out waiting for him in the fridge.

He did a silent prayer thanking God for an awesome father. Extra curly fries and a bacon cheeseburger. His father was seriously the best. He put the food on a plate and threw it in the microwave for a minute. He stopped it at one second to avoid the beeping. He sat on the couch and turned the T.V on and began munching down on his curly fries. After a little while, he idly picked up his phone and scrolled through it. Looking at games, checking Facebook, then looking through his messages. He noticed that Derek had sent him a message ten minutes ago when he was in the shower. He choked on one of his curly fries, in surprise. He sat up and read the message.

_From Derek: Are you doing anything tomorrow? I was wondering if you would like to go out… with me._

Stiles was sure he scared him off with ‘in a guy way’ but he guessed not now that he had just been asked out. He didn’t have any plans for tomorrow and he didn’t know what he should do. So Stiles decided to do a round of WWHFD. (Aka: What would his friends do). Which actually used to just be what would Scott do, but now he’s added to his social circle.

He knew what Scott would think, he would say no and probably report Derek to Stiles’ dad. If yesterday was any evidence of that than he didn’t know what was. Scott totally blew a fuse when Lydia told him that he actually gave Derek his number. Scott kept asking Stiles if he was crazy or if he needed some sort of mental help. Lydia found the entire situation hilarious. Stiles thought about what Lydia would do. She would probably say yes. Or she would say no but completely based on his looks and if he was popular or not.

Stiles wondered what he should look for in a guy. Or even a girl. What was his type? He wouldn’t mind someone taller than him, not that he would mind someone taller either. He’d definitely need someone who could handle his sarcasm. Someone who wouldn’t look at Stiles as fragile, broken, or flawed. Most people looked at him that way when they learned about him. They’d hear his mother died when he was eight, and suddenly everything said around him was shaped by small sympathetic words. He has been seen as the motherless child who deserved to be pitied for almost as long as he can remember.

Except for those few patches of memory that burned through his mind when he tried to remember his mother. When he did, all he got was the warmth and happiness he felt around her. The calmness she gave, and the tolerance she had for him.

Stiles wanted someone who wouldn’t treat him like a charity case, or pity him. He wanted someone who still told him yo momma jokes and not thinks he would suddenly burst into tears.  He wanted someone he could talk to about his mom and not have the conversation be awkward. He wanted to just be treated like a normal human being, and not a piece of glass.

He looked down at his phone, remembering that he needed to actually reply before Derek thought he was ignoring him. So, he had to either say no, making some excuse, or he could say yes. He wondered what that would be like… saying yes, going on his first date ever. Did he want that to be with Derek? Some random guy arguably too old for him.

Anything could happen. Derek could be a complete gentleman or a complete asshole. He might even be something in-between the two. The possibilities endless.

He needed advice, but had no one to get it from. Scott was against the entire idea of anything involving Derek other than blocking his number. Lydia probably doesn’t give two shits, and he didn’t really feel comfortable asking Allison. He couldn’t ask his dad, because he needed to keep his dad as far away from the situation as possible.

He thought about what he knew of Derek, he seemed like a nice guy, good-looking, polite. He thought Stiles was cute so that’s a plus.

In the end, Stiles decided just to respond before he thought himself into a black hole filled with what if’s.

_To Derek: No, I’m not doing anything tomorrow._

Stiles viciously bit his nails staring at his phone waiting for a response. Thankfully, it didn’t take more than a few seconds for the response to come.

_From Derek: So is that a yes to going out?_

_To Derek: Depends…_

_From Derek: On what?_

_To Derek: what would we be doing on this date?_

_From Derek: Anything you want. Dinner, movie, anything._

_To Derek: Well you asked so you should choose what we do. At least I think that’s how dates work. I don’t know I have never been on one._

_From Derek: You never been on a date before? I don’t believe it. Not even a little._

_To Derek: It’s true, clueless over here. The trait and the move, except the part of the stepbrother, I don’t have any stepbrothers. Although I am totally trying to set my dad up with my best friend’s mom, they would be so perfect together._

_From Derek: So you really have never dated anyone? I just am not finding that very believable, I took one look at you and that was it for me. Is everyone in this town blind?_

_To Derek: No, but maybe it’s my sarcasm that sends them running away._

_From Derek: It must be some super sarcasm to keep people from falling head over heels for you._

Stiles was once again blushing deeply. Smiling so wide his face felt like it might split in half. Once again he felt the feeling he never felt before. His heart was beating fast and stomach felt bubbly but in a good way. He felt like he wanted to jump up and down and squeal like a girl. Derek was such a flirt, or more like he knew the right thing to say to totally make Stiles smile like an idiot. 

_To Derek: Well it is some pretty awesome sarcasm._

_From Derek: I will have to see it to believe it._

_To Derek: Well I guess you will tomorrow._

_From Derek: So it is a yes!_

_To Derek: Yes it is._

_From Derek: Okay then, what do you want to do?_

_To Derek: I don’t know… I don’t remember there being any good movies out or anything._

_From Derek: So dinner maybe?_

_To Derek: Well I’m always hungry so it seems like a safe bet._

_From Derek: Is there any specific place you want to go?_

_To Derek: Anywhere they sell burgers, curly fries, and chocolate._

_From Derek: got it. What times should I pick you up? If I pick you up. We could meet up or something. Just what time is good for you?_

_To Derek: Well like I said, I’m always hungry, but since this will be a dinner kind of thing so I’m guessing around dinner time. But that varies depending on the family. Dinner time can be between 5-8 pm. In some rare cases later than that. So honestly, it depends on what type of dinner time you consider to be acceptable._

_From Derek: whatever time is good for me._

_To Derek: You have to choose something. I chose dinner, so you have to pick the time._

_From Derek: Okay, Six I guess?_

_To Derek: Then 6 P.M. it is._

_From Derek: And the driving situation?_

Stiles had to honestly think about that. It wasn’t something he could just throw out there. This was the first date and he didn’t know Derek or the rules of dating. Having Derek pick him up may make him seem like DTF. He was so not DTF and didn’t want to give that impression. Plus the date could go bad, and he didn’t want to be stuck with Derek having to take him home, in an awkward car ride.

_To Derek: We can meet up._

_From Derek: Okay_

Stiles felt like he killed the mood. Maybe Derek took that as some sort of offense. Like Stiles didn’t trust him or like him. But the fact was, Stiles didn’t trust him, or it was more like he didn’t trust him. He just didn’t know him well enough yet. He was at a complete Zero. Derek didn’t do anything to make him not trust him, but he didn’t do anything to make him trust him.

_To Derek: Okay so 6 P.M. tomorrow night, at?_

_From Derek: You choose, I just go back to town and I don’t remember any of the good places._

_To Derek: Well, there is this really good diner, just off of Emerson Street. They have lots of good food, and their burgers are like the size of my head._

_From Derek: Well now I must go, these burgers seem too good to be true._

_To Derek: Then the diner it is_.

After that, they just talked about mundane things, like sports. Stiles found that Derek was a basketball fan, and didn’t even know what lacrosse was. Stiles found that heartbreaking and funny at the same time. They talked about T.V shows and video games. Derek doesn’t watch or play either. The only game he plays is candy crush. Stiles vowed to get him hooked on his favorite T.V show, and his favorite games. Stiles started calling him old man as he learned more and more about Derek. I mean what kind of twenty-five-year-old doesn’t like video games or T.V? Like twenty-five is the age where you still act like a teenager and you don’t care what the mature people in their twenties say about you. He learned that Derek was okay in most ways. He liked to exercise, going on jogs was one of his favorite activities. He also really enjoyed hunting.

So to sum it up Derek was just basically an outdoor person. Which is, by the way, stereotypical serial killer status. It’s always a guy who enjoyed hunting but got bored with animals and decided that killing people would be more of a challenge, and feat. You never hear of a serial killer who spent ten hours of his day playing video games and watching T.V.

But with every message the distrust, and images of serial killer Derek faded more and more. Derek was funny and nice. He was also very flirty. Every five or so messages Derek would complement Stiles. Stiles knew that he wasn’t getting the full version of Derek. It was just like Derek wasn’t getting the full version of Stiles. It was impossible over text messages. It was hard for Stiles to unleash his sarcasm over text messages, and he was sure Derek couldn’t unleash some other part of his personality through text messages. But so far so good.

They texted each other for hours. He didn’t even notice how long had passed until Scott texted him.

_From Scott: Hey you left before everyone woke up? Are you at your house?_

_To Scott: Yeah, I was hungry and didn’t feel like waking you guys up so I just headed home._

_From Scott: Is your dad home?_

_To Scott: No why?_

_From Scott: Because we’re all coming over._

_To Scott: WHAT! Wait who is “We’re all”_

_From Scott: Allison, Lydia, and me_

_To Scott: Why?_

_From Scott: You don’t remember? Yesterday we vowed to help you figure out if you were gay or not._

_To Scott: No I don’t remember that!_

_From Scott: Well, you were mad I stole your phone and you were crying and saying I probably ruined things for you and that now you would never know if you were gay, and Lydia told you that we would help you figure it out._

_To Scott: Well, I was drunk and under the influence of Adderall so let’s just say I overreacted and just cancel the whole thing._

_From Scott: Lydia said too late. Besides we are already parked outside._

Stiles jumped from the couch and looked out the window, and sure enough, they were parked out front. Scott rode his bike and Allison and Lydia, drove in Lydia’s car. Scott was already off his bike and walking to the door, and Lydia and Allison were just getting out of the car.

What did his drunk self-sign himself up for?

Soon they were at the door and Stiles debated acting like he wasn’t home even though he just told Scott he was. Stiles sucked it up and opened the door. They all flooded into the house. Lydia went straight to business as soon as she sat down on the couch.

“Okay, so Allison and I have compiled a list of questions to help us see if you are gay or not.” Stiles rolled his eyes. He did not want to do this. He already had a plan. He would see if he liked Derek and that would be the deal breaker, and so far, it was heading towards the gay column.

“Look, you guys I was drunk and not very serious. We don’t need to do this, in fact, I don’t want to do this.” Stiles pleaded, wanting nothing more than to get out of this.

“Too late Stiles, you gave me a mission and now I’m invested. On to the questions. Allison?” Lydia said, shooting down all hopes that he was getting away from this.

“Oh um, you want me to ask them?” Asked Allison.

“Well, you are holding the cards,” Lydia said.

“Okay. Stiles, do you watch soap operas?”

He was probably going to die. What was this? A quest to see how stereotypical Allison and Lydia’s view of gay men was?

“Um, no I have never seen one.” He answered.

“Okay, next question. How do you react to spiders?” Allison asked. Oh, spiders were a horrible subject for Stiles.

“Um, I don’t like them. So I kill them.” Stiles answered, and then Scott chuckled and everyone looked at him.

“You kill them, huh?” Scott asked, a smile growing.

“Yeah, I do,” Stiles said defensively, crossing his arms.

“Yeah, but not before flipping out and screaming like a girl and running away from it,” Scott said laughing reminiscing the last time he and Stiles were around a spider. 

“You know what, spiders are scary. They have eight legs, shoot webs out of their butts and drink blood! I have every right to be afraid of them! Why is this even a question of seeing if I’m gay? I don’t even know why this is a big deal for you guys.” Stiles said, defending his honor.

“Well, we are asking these questions because questions like: have you ever kissed a guy, or found a guy attractive, won’t work because you have done absolutely nothing in your sexual life. Also, it’s a big deal because you have this older hottie waiting for you to get your sexuality in order before you give him a chance.”

Stiles didn’t say anything after that. He was silently weighing the pros and cons of telling them about his date with Derek. The cons seriously outweighed the pros. So he just put his head down and waited for the next question. He was horrible at keeping secrets and he knew if he tried to talk he would mess himself up. Problem was, putting his head down only made him look suspicious to Lydia.

“You’re hiding something,” Lydia said squinting her eyes like if he looked hard enough she might just see what it was.

“No, I’m not. Next question?” Stiles, said trying to move attention back on Allison, but no one was falling for it.

“Stiles Stilinski, what are you hiding from us? It has something to do with Derek doesn’t it?”

“What, ha, no that’s ridiculous as if I have even talked to him yet. Ha, ha.” Oh, he’s panicking now, panicking only makes it worse.

“So you have talked to him? What about?”

“What, I, nothing. We didn’t talk.” He should stop there, and maybe next time try and make his voice sound a little more confident and not like he’s being caught dead in a lie. But no, his mouth keeps moving and he can’t stop himself. “You know it’s not like he asked me on a date or anything jeez.” Stiles wanted to slap himself. His father was a cop he should know how to lie by now. Lydia smiles, and Scott looked like he just ate a bunch of sour kids.

“He asked you out!?” asked Scott. “What did you say?”

“… I said yes.” Stiles said.

“Dude that guy is like thirty!” Scott exclaimed.

“He’s twenty-five,” Stiles said matter-of-factly.

“He’s still too old for you,” Scott replied.

“Oh, Scott hush. He is hot and he is interested in Stiles that is all that matters. Now, when is this date?” Lydia said.

“Tomorrow at six.” 

“So soon, you two work quickly. Where are you going?”

“We're going to dinner. At the diner.”

“Okay, a casual first date, good thing you two had the right minds not to go to the movies. It’s horrible for first dates. All you can do is accidentally touch each other’s hands when reaching for the popcorn. So what are you wearing? I hope not sweatpants, or those worn out jeans and sweatshirts.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Stiles said offended.

“I’m saying you need new clothes. Better clothes. You know what let’s go to the mall you need a serious makeover.”


	4. Maybe it was the way Derek kept smiling. Or how he made it a point to laugh at every one of Stiles stories. Or possible how he let Stiles steal some of his curly fries without any protest. But Stiles knew that he liked, liked Derek .

Stiles walked back into his house on unsteady feet, holding multiple shopping bags. Shopping with Lydia was honestly the worst. Really it was. She had him try on basically the entire mall. Everything from hats to shoes. She had him try on every color of every outfit. Then varied sizes of everything. Because according to Lydia sometimes tight jeans look better than normal fitting ones. They may look like whatever, but they feel like a freaking vice grip.

Stiles used to love shopping for clothes. He didn’t do it often. There was never usually a need. He liked the clothes he had and he hadn’t really grown much in high school. However, he was clumsy and he was always ruining his clothes with stains or putting holes in them. But shopping was always easy, he would go to the store, grab a couple of t-shirts, maybe some jeans and sweatpants. Then he would be done. He would end up going to about one store and then it was all over. But no. Lydia had to drag him to every single store. They were in the mall for what seemed like forever.

Stiles knew Jackson went to the mall with Lydia all the time. He didn’t know if he should hate him more or respect him for keeping his sanity.

Lydia insisted he needed some button ups, some jackets, some dress pants, dress shoes. He over and over again told her that he was going to the diner and that it was a casual place. But she continued to say. 'This is for future dates.' He rolled his eyes every time.

He had never been so worn out from shopping. He felt like he had just come home from lacrosse practice. His feet hurt so much it felt like they might just fall off. He would be happy with that if it meant that he never had to go shopping again in his life, he had his fill.

His dad was home and walked down the stairs as Stiles was toeing his shoes off.

“You were gone all day. You went shopping?” He said noticing the shopping bags.

“I came home earlier and ate the takeout. A couple of hours later Lydia, Scott, and Allison all dragged me to the mall and forced me to try on clothes.” Stiles said following with a yawn. He was really worn out.

“Well, you look beat. So, I guess you should get some sleep. Did you have anything else to eat?”

“Yeah, we ate at the food court.” It was one of the only breaks he got.

“Okay, well your blanket was in the dryer, it’s in your room on your bed, with the clothes that were in there.” He eyed Stiles with his detective eyes. It was his way of silently asking why Stiles had washed his clothes, without actually asking. Stiles decided to take the option of running up to his room and pretending he didn’t notice.

“Thanks, Dad. Goodnight.” With that Stiles was quickly upstairs in his room. He threw the new clothes on his desk chair and the washed clothes in the closet. He changed into pajama bottoms and a T-shirt. He sat on his bed and sighed. Finally, off his feet, that were so sore. He was surprised he made it through the entire day walking on them. He laid down and was asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

_

Stiles choked on a snore which woke him up. He sat up abruptly, in surprise. Unsure of life for a moment, before snapping to his senses. He laid back down preparing to go to sleep when his eyes landed on the alarm clock which made him jump off the bed completely. It was four-thirty! That was only an hour and a half to get ready for their date. Less time if he wanted to be there exactly at six! He had half a mind to storm into his father’s room and ask him why he didn’t wake him up earlier, but the other half of his mind reminded him that this date was supposed to remain a secret.

He quickly ran to the bathroom and took a shower. After getting out and drying off he stood in his boxers uncertain, he didn’t know what to wear. Lydia forced him to get the skinny jeans, even though he felt like he couldn’t walk in them, and didn’t like them much. He would rather wear something he was comfortable in. This was his first date ever. On top of that, this was an older guy, guy, this was a sexual identity date. He was already nervous by nature but now he was shaking so hard, he was sure he was having an internal earthquake. Needless to say, he started worrying again.

Why did I agree to this? What if I make a fool of myself? What if he is a huge jerk and this is some kind of prank? What if he is a serial killer, I mean, Scott doesn’t trust him, and he has never been right about someone being a serial killer but he has also never been wrong either.

Stiles groaned and shuck his head free of all nervous thoughts before he overfilled and then drowned in them. He decided to wear the skinny jeans. He couldn’t trust his judgment at the moment, he was too jittery and worried. Lydia had a good sense of fashion and experience in dating. He should do what she says.

He looked back over at the clock as he squeezed into his jeans, five-ten. He felt like jumping as if it would get rid of all the nervous energy. Thankfully before he started drowning inside his worry-filled thoughts his phone rang. It was Lydia calling. He grabbed his phone and answered it.

“Hey, Lydia.”

“Are you ready for your date?”

“Uh, yeah, I’m dressed.”

“Did you take a shower?”

“Yes.”

“Did you wash your hair?”

“Yes.”

“Are you wearing the skinny jeans?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Are you nervous?”

“Yes.”

“So nervous you can’t say anything other than yes?”

“Yes.”

Lydia laughed at that. “Well, you better get out of that before he asks you something on the date you shouldn’t be saying yes to.” She said it to try and lighten the mood but all it did was make him start wondering what Derek expected out of the date. Or after it. Like a kiss, or making out, or even sex. Stiles has never been on a date before that is true, but he knows he is not the type to give it up on the first date. Unless the date turns out really, really well, and Derek turns out to be the singlehandedly most awesome person in the world, and is cool about asking.

What?

Don’t judge. It’s not exactly like he is virgin by choice right now. He is as horny as every other normal teenager. He’s just socially awkward, only has one friend, and obsessed over one girl since forever. He is taking his jeep so he won’t be stuck with Derek if he doesn’t want to be around him. But there is no big reason why he hasn’t had sex yet, except for lack of opportunity.

“What should I even do? I don’t know what proper etiquette is for a date.”

“Well, first dates are for getting to know each other, so just ask him questions about himself, and he is going to ask questions about you.”

“That’s it? Just asking questions?”

“Stiles, honestly it’s whatever you want to do. You could go in there and just goof off, you could tell him your life story, you could seduce him, or you could just not go. You are overthinking it completely. There is no rule book for dating. Just go to dinner and eat. The rest will just happen.”

That made him feel at least a little bit better. If there was no proper way to date then he couldn’t really mess it up… could he? He looked over at the clock. Five-thirty-five. He was wondering when he should leave. It would only take about ten minutes to drive there. But he didn’t know if he should be there at 6 or before it.

“Lydia, what time should I get there?”

“Well, you agreed to six right?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, it depends what message you want to send. Do you want to look desperate, eager, excited, nervous, or casual?”

“Um, casual?”

“Why does that sound like a question, Stiles?”

“I don’t know, which is the best to look on a first date?”

“Well do you like him?”

“I mean, I guess, from what I have seen so far, yes.”

“Then I would say, excited or nervous.”

“Um, excited I guess then.”

“Okay then go now, it takes like ten minutes to get, there right? So you should be there around five-forty-five.”

“Okay, so I just wait in the car for him?”

“Yes, wait in the car.”

“Okay.” Stiles walks over to his desk and grabs his keys, and then out of his room and down the stairs. He shoves his feet into his shoes, wiggling his feet in so they go on completely. He stands in front of his door hesitant. His heart pounding, he is really about to go on his first date.

“Wh- what, if he’s already there? Do we like start the date early? What am I saying? Of course, we would, not like we're going to just sit in the parking lot until six on the dot. Gosh, that was a stupid question. I don’t even-“

“Stiles!” Lydia says to stop the rant. “If he is already there, that’s a good thing.” Stiles sighs. He opens his door and heads to his jeep.

“Okay, I’m going. Wish me luck?”

“Break a leg, Stiles,” Lydia says and then hangs up. Thankfully, because he wasn’t sure he could, she was his lifeline at the moment. A realization hit him as he started his jeep. The girl he has obsessed with almost his entire life thus far, just helped him prepare for his first date.

He laughed at that. Then backed out of the driveway, and was soon at the diner. He parked one space over from this Camaro. He doesn’t like parking next to other cars when he can afford it. He doesn’t know why it’s just a pet peeve. He put the car in park, unbuckled his seatbelt and just sat and waited. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and began looking through messages and games to look for something to pass the time.

A knock on his window not two seconds later scared the life out of him and he jumped up and hit his head on the hood of the car.

“Ouch,” Stiles said rubbing the top of his head.

“Are you okay?” Asked the person who knocked on the window. Stiles looked out the window and was surprised to see it was Derek.

“Derek,” Stiles said and got out of the jeep. Derek walked around and soon was standing in front of Stiles. Stiles didn’t have a chance to even say anything before his head was pulled down. Derek was examining his head. Stiles felt like he was being babied by his father. “Umm, Derek,” Stiles said and it seemed to snap Derek out of whatever caretaker mode he had fallen into. He quickly let go of Stiles’ head and took a step back.

“Sorry, it just looked like you hit your head really hard,” Derek said looking a little embarrassed. Stiles smiled. He mentally decided to make a list of traits about Derek. Frist one: worrywart.

“I’m fine. I’m used to hitting my head on things. I’m pretty sure my skull is made of diamonds since it hasn’t cracked yet.” Stiles said with a laugh. Derek smiled and Stiles saw his teeth. He liked them, it reminded him of a bunny, or maybe a hamster. Anyway, he thought they were cute.

Then he realized, Derek had to have already been here. Before Stiles got here. Which according to Lydia was good. Stiles smiled.

“So uh, shall we?” Stiles said pointing to the diner.

“Yes, let’s go.”

They headed inside and were seated in a booth by the back of the diner at one of Rebecca’s tables. Rebecca was Stiles’ favorite waitresses at the diner because she was hilarious. She’s like his sassy older sister honestly. Not too long after they sat down she walked over. She looked at Stiles then at Derek and back at Stiles. Evil grin growing on her face.

“Stiles Stilinski, are cheating on John!?” she said faking appall. Stiles looked down at the counter faking guilt.

“You know I have to get my greasy carbs somehow, and I can’t bring him with his heart and all. It would be torture for him to have to eat a salad and watch me eat here.”

“So you’re going to wreak this poor guy’s heath instead?” Stiles looked over to Derek who looked a little concerned.

“Honestly? I’m not emotionally invested yet.” She chuckles.

“So I’m guessing you’re going to be getting the usual.”

“Yes, and remember as usual…”

“No tomatoes or lettuce, and extra curly fries.”

“Good! You remembered.”

“Stiles, I only forgot that one time.”

“And I didn’t notice till I had already taken a bite, I am emotionally scarred forever, I will never trust you again.”

“Whatever, you keep taking the only healthy thing out of your burgers, and you will be obese before your twenty.”

“Oh please, I weigh one-hundred-forty-five pounds, your just mad everything you eat goes straight to your hips.”

“Well you know what they say, if it’s not going to your hips it’s going to your heart.”

“At least I have one.” He says, and she looks at him thinking of a comeback but can’t at the moment so instead, she turns to Derek.

“Do you know what you’re getting?” Derek tells her his order, which turns out to be exactly what Stiles is getting, Bacon cheeseburger, with curly fries. Stiles mentally add good taste in food to the list of Derek’s traits. Rebecca writes down his order and gives Stiles a look as she walks away, but doesn’t say anything. Stiles is still grinning but it fades when Derek still looks concerned.

“What?” Stiles asks, maybe thinking his sarcastic and playful banter with Rebecca offended him somehow.

“Uh, John?” Stiles took a second to understand the question. When he did he laughed his ass off. Derek sat there looking confused. Stiles had to force himself to calm down so he could breathe. He wiped a tear out of his eye.

“Dude, John is my father. When she said cheating, it’s strictly on the diet that I’m supposed to be on that we only eat out together.” Stiles never follows that. His father doesn’t either, but he feels guilty about it and always get something for Stiles when he goes.

“Oh,” Derek said face relaxing. Stiles chuckled. Just like Rebecca to make him seem like some sort of player on his first date. Stiles realized he was no longer nervous. Maybe it was the familiar surroundings, or just knowing Rebecca and the rest of the employees that he knows and is close with are nearby for a good escape if the date goes sideways. But he doesn’t feel like it is.

“So, Derek. I've never seen you around town, so either you are new to Beacon Hills, or you live around the preserve.” Stiles said digging for information.

“The answer is both. I used to live here as a kid but I moved away as a teenager. I just moved back, and I live just outside of the preserve.” Derek explained.

“Oh,” Stiles said. Boring, he hoped that there was some better story. It’s always something cool when someone new moves into Beacon Hills. But moving back doesn’t count, people do that all the time.

“So Stiles Stilinski? How come I don’t remember you from when I lived here before?” Derek asked. He had been trying to see if he could remember Stiles from when he was a teenager since Rebecca said his name.

“Well, how old were you when you left?” Stiles asked.

“Uh seventeen, why?” Derek asked.

“You’re twenty-five now, so…” Stiles did the math of their age difference, which was nine years. Geez. He mentally said thinking that was going to be a weird story to tell their kids. Ha. Don’t get ahead of yourself Stiles. He mentally kicked himself. Back to the math. “Okay so, I would have been only eight or nine.”

“Eight or nine? That’s like, wait a second.” Derek said Stiles could almost see his gears turning as he sat there thinking.

“You’re fifteen?” Derek asked face shouting horror.

“No,” Stiles said and Derek sat back in relief. “I’m sixteen,” Stiles added. The relief was gone from Derek and he looked so concerned.

“You’re only sixteen?” Derek asked, surprised.

“Yeah, how old did you think I was? Wait you do know I’m underage right? I thought we established this.” Stiles says thinking back to the whole ‘buy us drinks because we are too young’ situation.

“Yeah, but, you could have been any age under twenty-one. You have a license, your own jeep, and you don’t look that young. I thought you were like eighteen.” Derek said.

“So what now?” Stiles asked. Suddenly feeling bad. Like the mood had been killed.

“What do you mean?” Derek asked, confused.

“Now that you no longer think I’m eighteen. I guess the date is off.” Stiles said. Of course, Derek thought he was eighteen. Why would he ask him out if he didn’t think he was legal?

 

“What, no! The date isn’t off.” Derek said shaking his head like the date being off wasn’t even an option. 

“But I’m under the underage you thought I was,” Stiles said.

“Yeah, but, isn’t sixteen the age of consent here?” Derek asked. Stiles had to think for a moment. He was sure it was, but he knew for a fact that his father would still try to arrest Derek on the spot if he found out they were on a date.

“Yes,” Stiles said, no need to mention his father. They would keep their dating a secret anyway. He had no plans of telling his father he was dating anyone. Pfft. Like he would believe that Stiles was gay.

“Then I see no problem. You are still legal, and as cute as ever.” Derek said.

Stiles blushed before he could manage to say anything Rebecca came back to the table with their drinks. Derek got water, and Stiles got mountain dew. Rebecca still wanted to say some sort of comeback to Stiles from him saying she was heartless.

“Your face looks as red as that tomato, you’re not getting on your burger.” She said.

“Well your ass looks as fat as that weight, you’re not losing,” Stiles responded.

“Why do you always talk about my hips and ass? You see something you like, Stilinski?” She said coyly.

“No, but you're always talking about my face, you see something you like, Rebecca?” he mocked.

“Shut up and drink your cancer.” She says as she walks away. Stiles opens his straw and starts sipping on his mountain dew happily and catches Derek staring at him.

“What?” Stiles asks. Derek looks down at his water, embarrassed he was caught. He thought about anything to say to save himself.

“You sure are good with comebacks,” Derek said, wanting to slap himself for the stupid reply.

“I have had lots of practice.” Stiles grins and blows into the straw, making bubbles in his soda.

_

Stiles and Derek continue talking a lot after that. After they got their food Stiles made a comment on how they had the same taste, which a couple of minutes later, led to the debate on whether chocolate or vanilla cake was better. They eventually had to agree to disagree on that, after Rebecca walked over to their table and pointed out they had been talking about it for thirty minutes straight.

After that, they laughed it off and continued to ask each other questions and get to know each other. About halfway through the date, Stiles just knew. Maybe it was the way Derek kept smiling. Or how he made it a point to laugh at every one of Stiles stories. Or possibly how he let Stiles steal some of his curly fries without any protest. But Stiles knew that he liked Derek and he was totally hot. In every single way. He didn’t say anything. But he was sure he was smiling like an idiot. He made sure to try and suppress it by taking huge bites of his burger.

When they finished eating they got dessert. Derek offered the idea because he really wanted to stay out with Stiles longer. Stiles agreed because when has he ever given up a chance at cake. To maintain that he was right about chocolate cake, Stiles got a piece of chocolate cake for dessert, and to maintain that he was right Derek got a piece of vanilla cake. They both ate it making loud moans as they ate their cake. When Rebecca walked over to give them their bill she whispered in Stiles’ ear that ‘Sex was not on the menu.’ Stiles chuckled, but he swore Derek heard it because a smile curled up on his face as she said it.

By the time they paid the bill and walked out of the diner, it was ten-fifty-five. They were both surprised that they had stayed so late because it didn’t seem like they were in there for over four hours. Stiles wasn’t sure he wanted their date to be over. He had so much fun. Derek was a really funny guy. He was a little short with his words, but surprisingly he didn’t need to speak much, Stiles still got a lot of information and had fun.

Apparently, Derek was the owner of the Camaro so they walked together. When they stood in front of their cars on the sidewalk Stiles was about to say goodnight when Derek asked him a question.

“Can I kiss you?” Derek asked. Stiles stood stunned for a moment. Why not, this was how normal dates ended, right? Besides, he has wanted to know what Derek’s lips have felt like from the moment he realized he liked him.

“Ye-” Before Sties could even get the entire answer out Derek’s lips were on his. Derek’s hands were on either side of Stiles’ head, and he was kissing him hungrily and possessively. Stiles’ hands went to Derek’s shoulders, to hold on mostly if anything. Stiles opened his mouth just a little and Derek’s tongue was soon mapping out the inside of his mouth as if his life depended on it.

Stiles was sure Derek was going to continue kissing him forever, but he couldn’t do that, because of oxygen. So Stiles took a step back and took a quick breath, and Derek took his own before his lips were back on Stiles’ once again. Derek nibbled on Stiles’ bottom lip and Stiles moaned. The feeling sent shivers up his spine, and oh that was new. Derek wrapped his hands around Stiles' waist so there was no space between their bodies. Stiles blushed heavily when he knew that thing pressing against his leg was not a rock in his pocket. Derek growled happily (Is growling happily even a thing?) when he felt Stiles pressing his –not rock in his pants- on his leg as well. Stiles shivered at Derek’s growl, but not a scared shiver, an excited shiver, Derek was doing things to him. His lips, his tongue, his body heat. Stiles almost forgot that they were outside a diner and in public.

Good thing his phone is there ringing to remind him. He groans and lets his hands fall from Derek’s shoulders. Derek wined and pulled Stiles tighter to him, not wanting to break the kiss, causing their –not rocks in their pockets- to rub against each other. Stiles makes a noise that he will never ever, ever admit to in the future.

He puts a hand on Derek’s chest and pushed a little to put distance between them.

“Derek, I need to check my phone really quick.” Derek wined, just like a dog did. It was cute. It reminded Stiles of the dog he got when he was four. It was just the cutest dog in the world and Derek was acting just like it.

“You can do that later,” Derek said, making a pouty face. Stiles laughed and took a step back giving them real space so they could actually clear their heads. He pulled his phone out of his pocket for the first time since they started their date. He had messages, from Lydia, Scott, and most importantly his father.

_From John: Where are you? I know you’re not with Scott_

_From John: You better not be causing trouble._

_From John: I’m heading out for police business, you better be home when I get there._

Stiles’ interest was piqued at ‘Police business.’ His father was only that vague when he knew it was something Stiles couldn’t keep out of. Now he had to go home so he could find out what it was about.

“I have to go home,” Stiles said. He honestly wanted to continue kissing and biting and rubbing, but nothing cool ever happened in beacon hills. He needs to know if something was going on. Derek looked like he wanted to continue but nodded.

“Okay. So… let’s go out again?”

“Sure, we’ll set something up, text me?”

“As if I could ever stop now that I’ve started.” Stiles blushed, and Derek headed towards his car. Stiles waved as Derek pulled out and onto the street. He then took a deep breath and walked to his jeep.

“Stiles wait!” He turned around to find Rebecca running out of the diner.

“What is it?” He asked as she stopped in front of him. She looked around the parking lot.

“Where is your friend? Derek?”

“He just left… Why what’s wrong?”

“He left his phone on the seat inside.” She says handing it to Stiles. “You should give it to him.” She then went back to the diner to continue working. She wasn’t allowed to just leave during her shift so she didn’t have time to stay any longer.

He looked down at Derek’s phone in his hand. He didn’t know where exactly Derek lived, and the only way he knew how to contact him was through the very phone in his hand. He looked towards the street. Derek didn’t leave that long ago he could catch up, besides he knew he lived just outside the preserve, there were like what, ten houses along the preserve. It wouldn’t be that hard to find him. He quickly hopped and his jeep and headed off the direction Derek drove in.

After about twenty minutes of driving towards the preserve. How did Derek get so far so fast? He must have been driving like a maniac. Stiles wasn’t about to speed and die over a phone. He already had ADHD, the last thing he needed was to put himself in more risk his hyperactive ass was already in. Soon he was on the edge of the preserve. He passed two houses he wasn’t sure if they belonged to Derek. He wasn’t sure how exactly he was going to be able to tell. It wasn’t like the house was going to say. ‘Belongs to Derek’ on the front door.

The next house he passes is in ruin. It was broken down, looked like it was burned? He couldn’t really tell in the dark. He was sure no one was living in it and was about to pass when he ungracefully slammed on the breaks when he saw Derek’s car parked in front of it. He hit his head on the steering wheel and felt the warm blood start to trickle from his forehead. As his car screeched to an abrupt stop. Once he steadied himself, he pulled into the dirt path which must have once been a driveway of some sort. He touched his forehead carefully and winced at the pain.

He needed to give Derek his phone and hurry the hell home because he was catching a headache. He took unsteady steps in the dark. It was pretty dark, the only light he had was from the moon and it was pretty cloudy out.

The house looked like something fresh out of a scary movie. Windows were broken, ash layered all over, plants are overgrown, and he couldn’t tell much but that roof was fucked. He didn’t trust the foundation and those steps so he stood in front of the house, as close as he considered a safe distance, in case this turned into Freddy VS Jason. He knows how all the scary movies end and he is not about that life.

“Hello? Derek? Are you here? I have your phone.” Stiles asked although he wasn’t able to bring his voice above more than a whisper. After a few minutes of nothing, and a couple more of jumping at random animal sounds around him he decided it was time to go home. “Okay, well… I’m just going to leave it on top of your car since it’s locked.” Just as he turned to Derek’s Camaro someone spoke and Stiles’ soul left his body for a few seconds.

“You shouldn’t do that.” The voice said from inside. After Stiles screamed and fell to the ground backing up a few feet he stopped.

“Who’s there!?” He yelled towards the house. He was ready at a seconds notice to run to the car, he had his baseball bat in there, he never took it out of his jeep, although he doesn’t know why he put it there in the first place.

“No need to be so scared. I’m a friend, not a foe.” Said the person who stepped on the porch from inside the house. Stiles couldn’t see many details of the guy, but he could see he had broad shoulders, almost shoulder length hair, maybe a little closer to the chin? Ugg, it was too hard to tell, Stiles wasn’t meant to see in the dark. He was also tall. Although he may not seem as tall if he wasn’t standing on top of the porch or maybe if Stiles wasn’t still sitting on the ground. Stiles quickly made it to his feet making sure to take what he believed was a defensive stance. (It wasn’t). The man laughed at his attempt and got off the porch and headed towards Stiles. 

“What are you doing?” Stiles yelled when he realized the guy intended to walk over to him. He wasn’t going to be one of those idiots who waits until it’s too late to ask questions. (But it’s possible that it is already too late.)

“You're injured.” The man said, talking about his forehead. “I just wanted to see if you were alright.”

“I’m fine,” Stiles said, confused how the man could tell in this darkness. Stiles could barely make out his shoes.

“Are you sure? Head injuries can be pretty serious, fatal even, if not treated properly.” The man said beginning walking over to Stiles again. Stiles didn’t have time to stop the man again before he was right in front of him, hand poking at the gash on his head. Stiles winced at the pain. If he knew the guy was just going to poke it he could have told him that he had already gotten that out of the way. But after a moment, Stiles felt lightheaded, and like a shiver went through his body, and suddenly his headache was gone, so was the pain coming from the gash. Stiles blinked in bewilderment, his hand instinctively reaching for it to make sure it was still there. He could feel it was. Blood was still slowly pumping out, but the pain was gone. He looked at the man still standing in front of him, in his personal space.

“How did you do that?” Stiles asked.

“I have a talent for alleviating pain.” He answered with a shrug.

“Who are you?” Stiles asked for the second time. The man looked at him for a moment, as if debating whether or not to answer.

“I’m Derek’s uncle, Peter.” He said simply. Stiles smiled, feeling safer. Of course, this guy was in –what he thinks is- Derek’s house.

“Oh, nice. Um, he left his phone at the diner, could you maybe give it to him.” Stiles said offering the phone. Peter shuck his head.

“Sorry I can’t. I would if I could but, it’s actually a surprise I’m back. I don’t want Derek to know yet.” Peter said, whispering. Stiles’ eyes squinted in confusion.

“But Derek is here. You’re not really hiding anything by being where he is.”

“That’s true but actually he is in the woods right now. I left him a present out there and he’s going to find it soon. I’m only here to see if he does, I'll be gone as soon as I’m sure he did.”

“Oh,” Stiles thought that was weird. How could he leave Derek a present in the woods and still make it a surprise that he’s back? Like how did Derek know to go looking for it in the first place? Was there a note, a message? It didn’t make sense. “Well um, where should I leave it?”

Peter looked around for a moment. “Leave it on the steps. He is bound to see it on his way inside when he gets back. Just don’t leave it on the car. He’ll drive off without seeing it and it'll be toast.” Stiles smiled. Of course, it would have been a stupid idea to leave a phone on top of a car. Like Derek would ever find it like that. Thank goodness his uncle was here. He walked over and put the phone on the steps to the porch and then turned back to Peter. Still a little confused by the situation.

“Why is it a surprise that you are back?” Stiles couldn’t help himself from asking. But Peter didn’t answer, he just smiled and looked into the woods and then back at Stiles.

“I have to go, he’s coming back. Remember, I was never here.” Stiles looked over to the woods were Peter had previously looked and tried to see any sign of Derek coming back but he didn’t. So he turned back to Peter but was surprised he was already gone. Not a single hint of him left behind. It was weird, Stiles didn’t hear any footsteps of him leaving. 


	5. “It was my sister, Laura.”

Stiles was confused, there was no trace of Peter. As if he wasn’t ever there in the first place. He didn’t even hear footsteps of him walking away. Stiles shook his head and started heading for his jeep. He has had enough of creepy for one night, and every second he was in front of this burnt broken down house, the creepiness went up and up.

“Stiles!” A deep voice called out from behind him, and Stiles, for the second time tonight, screamed. He turned around prepared to see a ghost. Because once again there were no footsteps. Seriously, are there no leaves on the ground? Hmm? Twigs, other things that make noise when you step on them!? Stiles was going to have a heart attack in these woods. He turned to find the outline of a person holding something very big in what looked like some sort of sack. The person put it down and started walking to him. He took three steps back before he noticed the person was Derek.

“Oh, Jesus Derek. You scared the shit out of me. You need to wear a warning sign that says, ‘Sneaks up on people: may cause heart attacks.’”

“Stiles, what the hell are you doing here?” Derek sounded angry. Very angry, and his voice seemed so much deeper than normal, almost like an animal would if it could speak English.

“I- you uh-” Stiles said suddenly reduced to stuttering. Something about Derek was off and it was freaking him out.  He was nervous and his hands were shaking for some reason.

“It doesn’t matter, you need to go,” Derek said stopping the stuttering. Stiles was stunned for a minute. Derek was being short and rude, and so much different than he was earlier.

“Derek I-“

“Go, Stiles!” Derek yelled when Stiles tried to start talking. When he didn’t move for two seconds he yelled again. “Just go!” He yelled again. There was a tone of Derek’s voice that scared Stiles so he left. Whether you are scared or not, it’s not cool to stay where you are unwanted. So Stiles quickly walked to his jeep and drove home.

When Stiles went home his father wasn’t back yet, which was a good thing since he didn’t feel like explaining where he had been all day. Especially now that he knew what he could only assume was the real Derek. An asshole, who lives in a creepy burnt house on the edge of the preserve, and has a creepy uncle who leaves gifts in the woods. Stiles decided to just forget about it and go to sleep. He had school in the morning.

_

Two hours later Stiles couldn’t forget about it. He had gone from angry, to sad, to confused, to hurt, and back to angry. It always consisted of. ‘How dare he’, and ‘why would he’, and ‘what did I do wrong?’, and then once again ‘how dare he!’ Stiles thought over and over again.

He ended up staying like that for almost the entire night. He finally fell asleep around four o’clock in the morning. His dad had to dangle a piece of bacon in front of his face just to motivate Stiles to get out of bed. Then he had to drink a red bull to motivate him to go to school.

But not before he got a chance to dig through his father’s case file. As if he shouldn’t know by now to keep them under lock and key when Stiles was near. Tsk tsk. What Stiles found in the thirty seconds he had before his father caught him was enough to let him know everything.

They found a dead body in the woods. Well… half of the dead body. Which was awesome. What person could have split a body clear in half? Like you know what strength that would take, well what tools actually, no human could do that without any power tools or anything. But still, the fact someone did it. He also got the name, Laura Hale.

His father found Stiles snooping and quickly shuffled him out of the house while lecturing him about interfering with a police investigation and telling him that he would have him arrested for it if he told anyone at school about the case. Apparently, they were keeping the case quiet at least until they found the other half of the body. They wanted to know as much of the case before causing panic within Beacon Hills. So Stiles vowed to keep his mouth closed about the subject.

It was honestly a coin toss if he was going to be able to keep that vow. He was really tired so he wouldn’t be as hyperactive as usual, which meant his brain to mouth filter would be present today. But then again there was that fact that this totally screamed murder, and that this could be a serial killer which would be totally cool. After the case is solved Beacon hills could have a tourist attraction: Come see the birthplace of…. of…. What would they call this serial killer? Aw, it doesn’t matter, they usually name themselves.

Stiles was pretty fine for his first three classes. He was tired but the red bull gave him a bit of a boost. By his fourth class, he was having trouble keeping his eyes open and he drooled a little bit on his hand that was keeping his head up. Thankfully he managed to get through the class and now it was lunchtime. Food always gave him energy and kept him awake. After class, he quickly put his stuff in his locker and headed to the lunch room. He got his food and sat at their normal lunch table next to Scott. Lydia sat down not too long after that.

“So Stiles, why do you look like you have been moping all day? Did your date not go well?” Lydia asked, and Stiles sighed at being reminded of Derek, he had managed to keep him out of his head most of the day.

“No the date was nice. Really good actually.” Stiles said as he stirred his fruit cup aimlessly. It wasn’t a lie. The date was amazing, it was a really great experience for a first date. Derek was nice, hot, funny, hot, smart, hot, was a good listener, a good kisser, he was also really good at throwing complements into the conversation and making Stiles turn tomato red, and speechless.

“Then what’s wrong with you?” She asked, and Stiles sighed again. Gosh, he sounded so old.

“It was after the date that wasn’t amazing.”  He said

“Oh, was the sex bad?” Lydia asked. Allison’s eyes went so wide that they looked like they could fall out of their sockets. Scott choked on the milk he was drinking and almost spit it out at everyone, which would have been disgusting and ruined everyone’s lunch.

“You had sex with him!?” Scott yelled way too loud, and several kids at other tables looked over and laughed. Stiles felt his face heat up in embarrassment.

“Oh my god, no! We kissed, like really hot kisses, but no, no sex. Gosh, get your minds out of the gutter!” he said to Scott and Lydia.

“Then what is wrong, something happened, tell us,” Lydia asked. Stiles caught himself before sighing again, goodness he was starting to sound depressed.

“Well he left his phone at the table and Rebecca ran out and brought it to me, but he had already left in his car, so quickly followed after him. So when I got to his house, which by the way is like burning down and seriously damaged from what I could tell. Then I meet his uncle, who is creepy honestly, in a lot of different ways. Then he left and Derek comes walking in from the woods in the middle of the night. Like who does that anyway, and yells at me and tells me to leave, and doesn’t even let me tell him the only reason I was there was to give him his phone. He acted like a total jerk. Which is completely different than how he acted during the date.”

“And you’re moping because you don’t know how to feel,” Lydia said thinking. “Looks like you got the classic case of the two-faced.”

“What does that mean?” Stiles asked.

“It means, he probably was only nice because he wants to have sex with you, and since he didn’t get it he was rude to you.”

“But that doesn’t make sense. He didn’t even… ask or anything. We just made out a little in front of the diner and he left. There was no rejection to make him act like that.” Stiles said. He really needed to get some advice from someone who didn’t simplify everything to sex.

“Well, then I’m not sure. He could just be a jerk who played nice during your date. Who knows?” Lydia said starting to start eating her lunch.

“I know, how about he’s too old for you and you shouldn’t be dating him. Remember he is the type of guy who buys teens alcohol and then asks them out on dates like it’s some sort of bribe.” Scott said.

“Scott he said that was his first time buying alcohol for anyone and he didn’t plan on doing it again. Will you stop being so against him, you haven’t even seen him yet.” Stiles said.

“Stiles looks don’t matter, facts do, and he is too old for you, and by the way, all of that is what he told you for all you know he does it all the time,” Scott said.

“Why are you so against him?” Stiles asked.

“Why aren’t you?” Scott countered. Stiles rolled his eyes and followed Lydia’s lead and started eating his lunch. Stiles gave up thinking about Derek for the rest of school and decided to think about the half body they found in the woods. He wondered if the other half of the body was even out there, maybe the killer burned one half, or possibly ate it? Cannibalism happens more often than people think. Maybe it’s like Texas chainsaw massacre and the killer wants to wear their faces. The possibilities were endless. They still didn’t know the cause of death, he got that bit of information from his dad as he was shoving him out of the house. That was the main reason the police were keeping it quiet. They weren’t sure of the cause of death because they only had half the body. From what they say it could have been a number of things. She may or may not have been dead before she was cut in half. All that did was leave Stiles’ imagination to fill in the blanks, and there were a lot of blanks.

Eventually, school was over and Stiles was taking off his shoes and raiding the kitchen fridge. Which was a disaster? No chocolate, of any kind. No burgers of any kind, and no pickles. How did he live in a house with none of those items? He was ashamed of his refrigerator. He shucks his head, put his shoes back on and headed right back out of his door. He was going to the store because there was no way he was going to live in a house that didn’t even have chocolate ice-cream.

So he hopped in his Jeep and drove over. It should have been a simple drive to the store grab some chocolate, some chips, and crackers, maybe anything else that caught his eye. But what actually happened was Derek caught his eye.

Standing on the meats aisle. Stiles wasn’t going to the meats section. He was just passing by to get to the candy. But he had to look in the meats aisle. He always had to look in every aisle he passed by. Like he always did, and he had to see Derek, and Derek had to look up and look at Stiles.

Why was Derek even all the way on this side of Beacon Hills shopping? He lives all the way over by the preserve. There was a much closer grocery store over there, of all the places to see Derek after he yelled at him this was truly the last place he would think to see him. Derek didn’t even seem like the type of guy to shop in grocery stores, he seemed like the guy who lived off of gas station food, grocery stores were too domestic to shop in for him. He didn’t know why he felt like that, he just did.

Stiles was pushing his cart around because he didn’t want to carry one of those baskets because they just annoyed him. He had already filled his cart with Mountain Dew, Cheetos, Doritos, and pickles. He was heading to the candy section when he passed the meats aisle and saw Derek. Derek looked up instantly as if feeling Stiles’ eyes on him.

Stiles didn’t know how to react at first. He felt surprised and then he didn’t know how to feel. They stood looking at each other for a few moments. When Derek looked like he was about to say something Stiles made up his mind and decided that he was mad at Derek. That if Derek wanted him to ‘go’ then going was exactly what he planned to do.

He turned his head and continued walking as if he didn’t see Derek. Derek huffed and walked after him.

“Stiles wait!” Derek said grabbing his arm, and Stiles stopped and turned around and looked at him. Eyebrows raised.

“Is there something you need, kind stranger?” Stiles said, acting like he didn’t know Derek.

“Stiles, I- I just wanted to apologize for snapping at you yesterday.” Derek apologized. Stiles mulled over forgiving him or not. He decided that Derek needed to suffer a little more than that. Stiles just turned back to his cart and continued shopping for snacks. He was actually a little surprised that Derek followed him.

“Stiles, come on. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have snapped at you like that. Especially when you were being so nice and brought my phone back. I didn’t even notice that I left it.” Derek continued his apology. Stiles pretended not to be paying attention to reading the nutrition facts on a pack of hotdogs. Dang, these things are not healthy. Stiles has already forgiven Derek, he just doesn’t want to look easy, or like a pushover.

He had to stay strong for just a little longer. ‘Do not bend Stiles, stay strong. Don’t let the fact that you want to kiss his face or the fact that you want him to kiss your face, sway you.’ Stiles thought to himself over and over again. Putting the hotdogs in the cart because he didn’t want to completely give away he picked them up for no reason. Great now he will need to go all the way back to the bread aisle to get hot dog buns.

He turns around to go back and get the bread aisle, but he sees Derek’s face, and just wants to pet his hair. Derek has the honest to god best sad puppy face. It was so adorable. Stiles could tell it was forced by how Derek’s lips were quivering in the struggle to keep the façade up. But still, it made him want to pinch his cheeks like a grandma. Stiles scuffs in defeat.

“Gosh, why won’t you let me be mad at you for like ten minutes? All you had to do was beg shamelessly for ten minutes about how you were such a horrible person and that you didn’t deserve me but you were dying for a second chance, that since you have kissed me you can’t stop thinking about my lips! That’s all you had to do. Honestly, do you have to be so perfect?” Stiles said giving in. Derek smiled at the perfect comment. “Physically.” He added, subtly letting Derek know his personality could use some work. But Derek kept his smile up. Stiles looked at his eyes, and they didn’t seem to be involved with what his mouth was doing at all. They looked lost, weary, and really sad. But not an about to cry sad, but a have been crying too much and now I’m out of tears sad. “Hey, what’s wrong?” Stiles asked. Derek looked down smile faltering and stayed eye contact with the ground for a moment. As if debating something.

After a few seconds, he took a deep breath and looked back up at Stiles, sad eyes regressed a little bit, be he could see the hint of sadness that repressed them.

“I’m fine, nothing’s wrong. I’m just a little tired.” Derek said. Stiles easily spotted the lie. He was wondering whether to push or leave it alone… well, we all know Stiles, and Stiles was defiantly not the leave it alone type.

“Wanna try that again big guy?” Stiles asked. Prying a little but giving Derek a chance to lie again in case he wanted out still. Instead of looking down and thinking Derek looked Stiles in the eye and seemed to ponder something. Hesitating on something.

“It’s family stuff, family trouble.” Derek started and then hesitated once again. “There has been a death in the family.” Derek continued, and Stiles didn’t know what to say really past the normal things that people say when they find out someone lost someone.

“Oh, Derek, I’m so sorry.” Stiles hated himself. Ecch. He hated generic replies to stuff like that. He was no good with emotional stuff, but he wanted to be better. But honestly, how can you expect someone like him who hears murder and their first question is ‘is it a serial killer?’ be good with emotional stuff. He forced himself to stop being sappy about death after his mother died. It’s the only reason that it didn’t crush him. Now he can joke about death and not care. A bad side effect, he doesn’t know the best thing to say something to someone who is grieving. “Who was it?” He asked out of curiosity more than sincerity in talking about it.

“It was my sister, Laura,” Derek says, and Stiles’ whole body goes frigid. Eyes went wide in surprise. Heart skipped one or two beats. The girl he had spent all day imagining dying in different possible scenarios. Who his father was keeping quiet on because they wanted more information before going public. The girl who had been cut in half. The girl who’s other half has still had yet to be found.  –it also suddenly occurred to Stiles that he didn’t know which half of the body was still missing. Weird.-

“Y- Your last name is Hale?” Stiles asked. He needed to confirm. Maybe it was a different Laura, from where ever the hell Derek moved back from.

“Yeah, you didn’t know that already?” Derek asked Stiles, shuck his head no. Stiles didn’t know why he didn’t. It had just never come up. The reason that Derek knew Stiles’ was because Rebecca said it at the diner.

“You just never said it, so I didn’t know,” Stiles said, and Derek nodded. There was a silence for a moment neither one of them knowing what to say.

“How did you know that Hale was her last name?” Derek asked, breaking the silence. Stiles blinked at the question. He needed to put it delicately that he snooped in his father’s police files because he was hoping for an interesting case.

“Well uh… My fathers the Sheriff and I happened to see the case file at home.” Stiles said. It wasn’t completely a lie. Just sort of leaving out other parts of the truth. He did happen to see the file… while he was looking for it.

“Casefile?” Derek asked confused.

“Yeah, my dad is a bit of a workaholic so he often brings the files home and stuff.” Stiles returned.

“Yeah, I just um, didn’t know there was a case,” Derek said, with a cough. Like he was trying to hide something in his body language. But Stiles didn’t know what it was.

“Well, when there is a body found in the woods, there is an investigation. Even if it’s only half of one.” Stiles said, suddenly afraid that was too casual so soon after her death. He quickly continued hoping to cover it up. “Anyway, like I said my dad’s the Sheriff, he probably is the one who called you in to identify the body. He likes to do that himself for that kind of stuff.”

Derek nodded once again. His body was something that Stiles couldn’t read. Normally he could if he tried really hard. Being the son of a cop he was able to notice things about people really well. Derek didn’t look like he was hiding something, he looked confused, like honestly confused. There was also a hint of anger. At least that’s what Stiles thought. But Derek was acting normal.

“So, do you plan on getting anything good for your health?” Derek asked, looking inside of Stiles cart. Smile curving into his face.

“No. Do you always shop extra far from your house for no reason?” Stile countered.

“No.” Derek started. “I was over on this side of town anyway and decided that I needed to have some actual food in my house.” Stiles laughed thinking back on how he thought Derek shopped out of gas stations.

After they talked for a little while Stiles continued to get candy and ice cream, and eventually, he had to go because the ice-cream was starting to melt inside of the store. He quickly switched it out for a more frozen one and then left the store. He headed home not knowing exactly how to feel.

On one hand, he was happy. He had seen Derek and Derek apologized and had a good reason to be in a bad mood. His sister was dead. Murdered, by what Stiles hoped was a serial killer. That’s where the other feeling came in. He felt like a bad person for wishing she had been a mark on the theoretical, metaphorical, bedpost of a serial killer. Stiles had some real issues, and he needed to sort them out. Maybe see a therapist about his lack of respect for the dead or the loved ones of the dead. It’s just not right to seek entertainment from real life murder mysteries.  Honestly, he was beginning to sound like a sociopath in the making.

His father was home when Stiles got there. Which was a pleasant surprise? No matter what Stiles said about being okay, being alone in the house. He still looked forward to when his dad was home. Even the times where he would come home and still be working hard on a case, Stiles was just happy knowing he was home.

“Hey, Dad,” Stiles said as he walked into the kitchen and put the hot dogs and ice-cream away.

“Hey,” John said putting looking up from his case files that scattered around the dinner table. “I was wondering where you were… So how much damage did you do?” John asked.

“What do you mean?” Stiles asked.

“Who did you tell about the case?”

“Oh, surprisingly no one. But I did talk about it with Derek.” Stiles said before he could stop himself. Goodness, he was horrible at keeping secrets.

“Derek?” John asked. Stiles had to play it off like he had good reason to know who Derek was.

“Yeah. I ran into him at the store while I was shopping. You know he looked kind of sad so I asked him what was wrong naturally, being the nice person that I am, and he told me about Laura dying. I didn’t even bring it up first.” Stiles said proudly of his actual restraint.

“Wait, Derek Hale? Her brother? He’s in town?” John said standing up from the table.

“Yeah, he got back a few days ago. Are you getting old on me? I’m pretty sure he was the person you called to identify her body… or at least half of it.” Stiles said.

“First of all thirty-four isn’t old, second of all I didn’t call anyone to identify the body. DNA matched, besides I highly doubt it would have been very accurate to call someone in to identify her legs, third we got the time of death locked down. It was Friday night.” John said, that last part more to himself than to Stiles, his sheriff gears turning in his head. Before they had no suspects, the case wasn’t even officially ruled a homicide but everyone knew it was, but this Derek Hale was something new to the case.

Stiles got a bad feeling in his gut.

“So you called him and told him then…. Right?” Stiles asked.

“No, I didn’t even know he was in town. I’m going to have to call him to the station for a few questions tomorrow.” John said making a note in his files to make sure he remembered.

Derek got back into town five days ago. Friday was four days ago. If his dad didn’t call Derek and tell him, how did Derek know Laura was dead? Why did he pretend to know what Stiles was talking about him identifying the body?

This was starting to look really bad.


	6. “Because, you like him. And I want to see this guy for myself. Make sure I can identify him for the police if he tries to hurt you.”

Falling asleep while thinking your first gay crush might have murdered his sister then cut her body in half, is a real and complete task. Especially when you keep getting a strange feeling that someone is watching you. Every ten minutes or so Stiles would find himself sitting up and looking around his room because he honestly couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was right there watching him.

He chucked it down to his feelings going haywire because of his worry that Derek might be a crazy killer. But you know there was always a chance that it could be something else. Right? Like hand sanitizer, there was always that point-zero-one chance of germs.

Eventually, he fell asleep, and he had a horrible dream.

There was this large beast. It had blood red eyes, sharp fangs, and yellow claws that he could hear scraping on the walls and floors as it walked. It was watching Stiles in the dream, and it stood hunched back in a corner looking at him. Growling quietly, on purpose it seemed. As if to add to that scary nagging feeling Stiles had. After a while, the beast got smaller, stood straighter, and turned into a man. It walked up to him, and it lightly dragged its claws across his cheek. Not hard enough to cut, just enough to know the threat was real. The claws, fangs, and red eyes were still there, but the figure seemed more human. Then it spoke, very quietly, almost to itself.

“I don’t know whether to add you to my pack first or last. I guess only time will tell, Stiles Stilinski.”

Stiles woke up because of a sudden chill in the room. It was around four in the morning, and he looked around his room startled expecting to find the human/beast. Instead, he got an empty room and an open window. He looked at it confused for a moment and was too tired to put much thought into it. So he closed it and went back to sleep.

By the time he got up again with his alarm and got ready for school, he forgot all about the window being open, and the strange dream.

Stiles woke up, got ready and headed to school. He had this weird feeling like he was forgetting something. He made sure to check that he had all of his homework, even the few assignments that he didn’t do. He seemed to have everything, so he just gave up and felt like if it was important he would remember eventually. But for now, he had to try and get as much information on what his dad is going to ask Derek.

He knows that he is going to bring Derek into the station to ask him a few questions but he doesn’t know when. Just sometime today. Most likely while Stiles is in school, just to make it that much harder for Stiles to snoop.

Stiles was tapping in pencil on his books in class constantly. He was also shifting, and just being his hyper self as usual. But Scott, being friends with him since they were in diapers, was able to notice Stiles just being Sites, or Stiles thinking and having something on his mind. After first hour Scott pulled Stiles to the side before he got to his locker.

“Dude, what’s up with you?” Scott asked.

“Hmm, what are you talking about? Nothing. Does something seem like it’s up? If so I have no idea why, I’m down, like low, gravity’s holding me down, there is nothing up with me.” Stiles lied.

“If I wasn’t convinced before, I am now. What is it? Tell me.” Scott said, showing telltale signs of not giving up.

Stiles looked around them to make sure there were no prying ears picking up on their conversation, then took a deep breath because he was going to need it.

“Okay, I’m not supposed to tell anyone because my dad is keeping the case quiet for now since they don’t know a lot yet. But they found a body in the woods, well half a body. Anyway, it was this girl, Laura Hale. So I was at the grocery store yesterday after school and I saw Derek there, which was weird because there is one closer to his house than that one, but back to the point. I saw him there and I was trying to ignore him since you know he yelled at me, but I fail because- puppy eyes, seriously he is like an animal. Do you he growls? Like a real dog, or wolf or something- anyway I was talking to him, and he looked kind of sad, so I asked him about it, and he tells me there had been a death in the family, his sister, Laura Hale.” Stiles says, ending almost out of breath. Scott was squinting his eyes as if Stiles had his own subtitles, and he was reading to see which information was worth processing in his ears. It’s a skill you get used to after being Stiles friend so long.

“Dude… his sister was cut in half, that’s sad,” Scott said grimacing like he was trying to imagine the body.

“Yeah but that’s not the point. He knew she was dead.” Stiles says, suddenly feeling like they are in a murder mystery movie. But not in the locked inside a giant mansion sort of one.

“Okay… But shouldn’t he know? Your dad or someone would have called him and told him right? Like someone has to identify the body or whatever?” Scott said, not knowing why that seemed to be the point of this conversation.

“That’s what I thought. But they only have the bottom half of her body. Just hips, and legs. They found her through DNA, and they didn’t call and tell him, because they are keeping the case quiet, and they didn’t even know he was back in town.” Stiles explains.

Scott took a second to process all of the information. But when he did his eyes went wide.

“Then how did he know she was dead. Dude! What if he like killed her!” 

“I know, that’s what I was thinking. But what if he didn’t? What if there is some complete total weird explanation for all of this.” Stiles says more to himself than Scott. He really wants to give Derek the benefit of the doubt. After all, he first thought the guy was a pedophile/rapist/serial killer, turned out he was just doing a really weird way of hitting on Stiles.

“Wow, you really like this guy,” Scott said, which completely came out of nowhere.

“What? Now you’re just getting off topic.” Stiles said, waving it off.

“No, I’m not. You have been trying to talk yourself out of this scenario where he’s some murderer. I have known you almost your entire life and you are always the first to talk about some awesome murder story. You want us to become some tourist attraction or something. But you keep trying to talk yourself out of letting Derek be a murderer. That means you like him more of the idea that Beacon Hills will finally be famous for something, which means you really like him!” Scott practically yelled for the whole school to hear. A couple of people turn and look at them from their lockers, and Stiles shushes Scott.

“Okay, I like him. So what? He may have killed his sister.” Stiles say’s giving in, he knew he really likes Derek. He was already so attached to him. Which can’t be normal. But then again knowing him, and knowing how he was in love with Lydia for the longest and she hadn’t even spoken to him until recently. Just shows how he can get attached, plus with this guy, they talked, went on a date, and even kissed/began make-out. Of course, he was already too freaking attached!

“I have to meet this guy,” Scott said.

“What!? No! Why?” Stiles panicked. No way was that allowed to happen. Scott already thinks the worst of him, and that was before the chance he may have killed his sister was in the picture.

“Because you like him. And I want to see this guy for myself. Make sure I can identify him for the police if he tries to hurt you.” Scott said, not joking even a little.

“Scott no. He’s not going to do anything to me. Besides, my dad might bring him in for questioning sometime today.” Stiles said trying to show that the Scott wouldn’t be needed for identifying him, in any way.

“Do you know when?” Scott asked.

“No,” Stiles answered.

“Then we will just have to go to his house after school and hope he’s there,” Scott said, and then the bell rung so they had to separate and grab their stuff quickly and head to their next class. Stiles tried to get Scotts attention for the rest of the day but Scott just ignored him until the end of the day.

\--

“Hurry up. Get your stuff so we can go.” Scott said.

Stiles sighed, he hoped that maybe Scott forgot about the idea. Or at least just gave up. But he didn’t, and now he was rushing him so they could get there faster.

“Scott, come on this isn’t a good idea. No matter how much I like him, it’s weird to just make house visits and for me to bring my overprotective best friend to intimidate him. That’s like stuff you do after a couple of months, or maybe even at the wedding.” Stiles said, knowing that Scott will probably annoy Derek more than intimidate him. Derek is built like a handcrafted piece of art. Strong and beautiful. And goodness if he couldn’t rip phonebooks with his bare hands, then Stiles didn’t know who could.

“Well, it will be too late if I meet him and find out he’s a murderer at the wedding. You will be too emotionally invested. You already are too much if you ask me.” Scott said, and he was right, Stiles is way too invested like if he was FBI and he found incriminating information on Derek, he couldn’t be trusted to bring it in.

Okay, it wasn’t that serious, but Stiles liked the dramatics’ of it. Plus he just saw something like that recently on T.V., what show was that anyway…?

“I still think we shouldn’t go…” Stiles said lamely.

“Stiles, if you don’t hurry up I will go by myself.” Scott threatened.

“You don’t even know where his house is,” Stiles said back

“Yes, I do. Out by the preserve. I just have to look for the broken down one.” Scott said with a victorious smile.

“Fine! But we are going over what you are and are not allowed to say!” Stiles said as he slammed his locker shut. He already had his stuff he was just stalling before, but now it’s clear that there was no escaping this situation, Scott was going up there with or without him, at least if he went he could do damage control.

Stiles made sure to drive slowly so they had as much time as possible to go over what he was going to ask him.

“Okay, so when we get there what are you to say?” Stiles asked, and Scott sighed, this was the second time they went over this.

“That I forced you to come with me, and you are totally against this idea,” Scott said almost robotically.

“Good, Good. What are you going to talk to him about?” Stiles asked? Scott still hadn’t told him.

“I’m just going to ask him a couple of questions.”

“Like what?”

“…”

“Like what Scott?”

“I’m not sure yet actually.”

“What do you mean? You wanted to come here so bad, and you don’t even know what you want to ask him about!? No, no, no, I am turning around and taking you home.”

“No, we are not! You will keep going and I will think of some questions.”

“Scott we are almost there!”

“I know I know, just let me think.”

They were both quiet for the rest of the ride. Scott was thinking of questions, and Stiles didn’t want to distract him from that. He had a really bad feeling about going to Derek’s house. Like something bad was going to happen. Which mostly was going to considering who Stiles was and how Scott was. Especially since Scott seemed to be so overprotective of Stiles in this situation. Honestly, Stiles thought it was nice. Like Scott really cared about him.

It’s not like he doubted that before, it’s just there had never been a situation where Scott felt the need to stick up for Stiles or be protective, it was just like this proved what Stiles always knew. But it would be great if Scott could not be so protective that it could potentially ruin this relationship before it really began. Although it’s looking like Derek may be doing that on his own if he killed his sister.

Eventually, they pulled in front of the house.

“Wow, this is bad, are you sure he lives here?”

“Yeah…. I think.”

The house was much worse than it looked in the middle of the night. Half of the house didn’t even have a roof. Honestly, it looked like it was one tap from falling down completely. There was no way anyone lived there. No way would the town allow it. Maybe Derek sleeps in the motel and only comes here to fix it up. You know, that seems like an actual thing that could be happening. Derek would probably freeze to death sleeping in there. It actually would be safer to just sleep outside on the ground than in there.

“Do you think he’s here? I don’t see a car.” Scott asked.

Stiles looked around, Derek’s Camaro was anywhere. Oh, maybe he already went to the police station to answer some questions.

“He’s not here, let’s go home,” Stiles said hoping to leave before he got back. But Scott was already opening the door and getting out. “Scott, ugh!” Stiles sighed and turned off the ignition, and got out of the car himself. Scott was already walking up the steps, talking no time to wait for Stiles.

“Scott, I don’t think he’s here we should just go.”

“We should at least look around.”

“Look around!? No! We are not going to snoop around his house. That’s trespassing. Not to mention rude!”

“Then stay in the car,” Scott said walking around the side of the house. Stiles stood next to his jeep going over all the ways this could go wrong. Derek could come back and be angry that Scott is poking around his home. Derek could think they are stalkers or something. Then there is the possibility that Derek is a killer and decides they are too close to the truth and then kills them.

“What’s this?” Stiles hears Scott say from the side of the house. He rolls his eyes and sighs greatly then walks over. Scott is busy digging a hole in the ground.

“Scott! What the hell are you doing!?” Stiles said freaking out. “You can’t just pick up a shovel and dig a huge hole in the ground! Where did you even get that?”

“It was just here. But you can tell, this was recently dug up. I want to see what’s under it.”

“Scott seriously, you can’t just do this. It’s probably a garden or something. You know to liven the place up.”

“I don’t think anything could liven this place up,” Scott said as he continued to dig. Stiles was about ten seconds from having a panic attack. This was not going to end well in any situation. He looked at Scott hopelessly as he continued digging. He checked the road to make sure no car was coming and when there wasn’t he looked back, and something caught his eye.

He took a step closer to Scott. The hole he was digging hadn’t even been that deep yet. Scott looked like he was focusing on making it wide instead of deep and the Thing was behind him.

Stiles took a hesitant step forward. It was probably nothing. Is what Stiles said to himself over and over as if it would make it true. He leaned forward and flicked the dirt off of it to see more of it. He could tell what it was from that so, he had to flick more. And he eventually saw that the thing was larger in shape under the dirt.

Now he uses both hands to dig out whatever it is and… it was either a really big dog or a wolf. He was about to laugh despite his disgust that he was touching a dead animal, but he was happy that he was wrong in thinking that Derek was a murderer. He looks over at Scott who has now abandoned digging and was pulling at a rope or something, and just as he is about to say something. He looks back.

Oh god. No, no, no.

Stiles see’s it and can’t even speak. His mind is doing a thousand different things, and his vocal cords are paralyzed in shock. He takes two staggering steps back because all of his bones feel like jelly. He throws up. Scott looks over to him, at the sound.

“What wrong?”

Stiles still can’t speak. So he points. He points back to the hole and Scott looks. Then Scott is the one throwing up. Because he has never seen a dead body before, and the movies really don’t do them justice.

“Oh my god! Is that his sister! Oh my god!” Scott yelled. He was freaking out. Starting to pace a little. But he suddenly stopped. “We have to call your father,” Scott said. Which seemed to help Stiles out of the shock, but just enough to get him talking.

“Yeah, sure. Here is my phone, you call him.” Stiles said as he pulled his phone out of his pocket and handed it to Scott. His mind was doing flips and turns driving and digging through his thoughts.

Derek had killed his sister. He cut her in half and buried her in his yard. But why did he think he saw a wolf? Oh, it doesn’t matter, it was just his mind playing tricks on him. He had just seen a dead body. A dead body that the guy he liked put there. The guy he kissed. His first kiss. Oh goodness. You know what he can’t think about this right now.

“Scott lets go. You can call my dad on the way home.”

“What? Shouldn’t we at least stay until he gets here? Isn’t leaving the scene of a crime, like a crime.”

“Scott I don’t care, I am leaving. Are you coming or not?” Stiles asked as he walked to his jeep and got in. Scott felt conflicted like he should stay, but he wasn’t about to stay here at this creepy house with a dead body alone. So he quickly walked over and got into the passenger seat. He barely had a chance to close the door before Stiles was driving off.

Aside from the phone call to Stiles’ dad. They didn’t speak. Scott and his teenage instincts wanted to say that he was right when he didn’t trust Derek. But he could feel it in the air that now was not the time. Stiles was dead silent, not saying anything, and driving almost robotically.

Stiles was quiet because honestly, he didn’t know how to feel. He barely knew Derek. He knew he liked Derek, and he guessed that’s what the important thing was. But honestly that doesn’t matter, Derek was going to go to jail, because he killed his sister, and his dad was going to catch him. That was the end of that.

He dropped Scott off at his house and then went home. He did everything quickly, he parked the car, went inside the house, remembering only to lock the bottom lock so it’s easier for his dad to get inside. He takes off his shoes and goes into the kitchen and gets the whole tub of ice-cream and goes up to his room.

He sits at his desk and does his school work while listening to music and eating the ice-cream. Before he knew it, hours had passed and for the first time in what seemed like forever, he actually completed all of his homework, and he was fairly confident that all of his math problems were correct, that his essay was actually on the larger side of the required amount of words. Maybe he should go on a date with a murderer more often, it is surely good for his grades. He mused lightly. Half of the ice-cream was melted in the tub. He got up and put it back in the freezer hoping that it would freeze normally, and not become hard like a rock.

As he was about to go back upstairs, he dad got home.

“Hey, dad.” Stiles greeted him, walking over to his dad, who was taking off his jacket and shoes.

“Hey, Kiddo. So you and Scott are the ones who found the body?” John askes going straight to business.

“Yeah. It was Scott's fault. He wanted to snoop, I wanted to leave, but couldn’t leave him behind.” Stiles said.

“Why didn’t you stay? You know I needed your statements.”

“I was tired and honestly didn’t want to wait for you next to a dead body, I figured you would just get it from me when you got home.”

“If you say so. I will have to get Scotts tomorrow, but since you are still up I can get yours now.”

“Okay…” Stiles said. John motioned for him to sit down on the couch, as he walked over and sat down himself. He pulled out a pen and paper.

“Okay, you know how this goes, you have walked into enough of my crime scenes. I’m going to ask you a couple of questions and you are going to answer honestly.”

“Yeah yeah, I know.”

“Okay, what were you doing at Derek’s house?”

“Snooping.”

“You went all the way over to the preserve to snoop on a stranger?”

“Yeah, that’s why you snoop, because you don’t already know them.”

“I’m finding that hard to believe, Stiles.”

“Dad, you snoop so you can find stuff out. I saw Derek at the store yesterday and I mentioned it to Scott, and he thought it would be a good idea to meet Derek. So we go over to his house but he isn’t there, so Scott decides to snoop.” It was honestly what happened. All he did was leave out that he and Derek went on a date, and that they kissed, and that he liked Derek.

“Okay, and what caused you to dig up the body?” John asked.

“Scott's idea, he saw the fresh dirt and figured something was buried under it.”

“Sounds like Scotts having a lot of ideas, I’m going to have to ask him why he’s so interested in Derek Hale.” That reminded Stiles that he needed to make sure he told Scott to keep the whole dating thing on the down low. Good thing he was honest, it would be easier than telling Scott the whole story and hoping that he would remember.

“So did you arrest him?” Stiles asked.

“Derek Hale? Yeah, he was already at the station when you called so it was pretty easy.”

“Did he confess?”

“No. He claims he has no idea what her body is doing on his property or how she got there.”

“But then how does that explain how he knew she was dead?”

“I asked him that, and he lawyered up.”

“Hmm.”

“Stiles, are you okay? You’re awfully quiet. Is there something you want to tell me?”

“Nope. I am actually tired so I’m going to go to sleep. Finding dead bodies is exhausting. I don’t know how you do it so often, you should be in a coma or something.”

“Caffeine, it’s a great help. But not to you, you’re hyper enough as is. Don’t plan on finding more bodies, next time the killer might not already at the police station.”

“Sure, thing dad. No more dead bodies.”

“And no caffeine.”

Stiles smiles then salutes him, and then goes upstairs to his room. He opens his door, which he doesn’t remember closing, and turns on the light, which he doesn’t remember turning off. And notices the open window, which he knows for a fact that he didn’t open.

He looks around his room as if he is going to find someone, but he doesn’t. He notices somethings are not where he put them. Like his dirty clothes basket. It’s been moved. He can tell because of the dent in the carpet where it used to be. It was only about an inch from where it was previously. Also, his blanket is on his bed. Jumbled up, yes, but when he was doing his homework it was almost completely off of the bed hanging on the side.

Some of the clothes on his floor were out of place. His room was messy, but everything was where it was for a reason. Like all of his sweaters and jackets were thrown in the general area of his desk chair. His t-shirts and jeans were pooled at the bottom of his bed, and his underwear was always in the dirty clothes bin. He may be a bit of a slob, but that would be gross, even for him.

Looking around there was only one thing that made sense. Someone was in his room, and it had to be in-between the time he finished his homework to now. Which mean they had to climb in and out of the window. Who would dare break into the sheriff’s house while he was home? That’s pretty dumb, or scarily bold. Either way, this wasn’t looking good.

Stiles looks around again, trying to see if anything was stolen. Everything important was still here. His phone, his laptop, that one watch he owned but never wore. Even his favorite jacket was there. He looked at his homework, there was a chance it was someone after his homework.

What? Don’t judge. He needed to rule out everything.

But he found nothing missing. It was late and he was tired. So he closed the window, locked it, and went to sleep. Nothing was missing so what was he going to do? Report a break in although nothing was broken, or stolen, and he had no real proof that someone else was even in the room, other than his already messy room was slightly messier. Maybe cleaner actually now that he looked at it. Like someone searched for something and put everything they moved back to where they think they got it.  

Anyway, that thought was something he wouldn’t actually have until tomorrow. Right now, he was too busy starting to have another bad dream.


	7. Yep, this is all Derek’s fault.

Stiles woke up with a start. Jumping out of bed as if he had been slapped. Honestly to felt more like he had been stung by a bee. His neck hurt, like a tiny little ache, he puts his hand on it, and one of his fingers find blood. Not an alarming amount, although to Stiles any amount of blood is a little alarming. Blood is meant to be inside the body, there is a problem if it’s out. It was just a little bit. No more than you’d get if you pick a scab. Which is probably what happened. He may have scratched it in his sleep or something. Not that he remembers having a scab on his neck, or feeling that itching need to scratch it.

He honestly felt a little scared. That paranoid feeling you have after having a bad dream. Which he had. In his dream, someone, or something was standing over him. It had red eyes that were like beacons in an all-black room. He remembers heavy breathing and the smell of dirt. Stiles had this bad feeling like someone was standing behind him. He turned quickly, but no one was there. He sighed, he felt weird, a little dizzy. Lightheaded. The room felt like everything was tilting to the left. Turns out it was actually Stiles that was tilting, and he fell to the floor.

It was a hard and loud thud. One that his father heard, it was still very early and it woke him out of his sleep. But being a cop for many years made him able to react to things quickly, like waking up and hearing your clumsy son do something that probably got him some sort of head injury. So he had to go and check on him. He walks into the room to find Stiles starting to stand up off of the floor.

“Stiles, what happened? What are you even doing up this early?” He asks as he helps him up.

“Nothing, I had a weird dream so I stood up, and I don’t know I must have slipped or something,” Stiles said. He didn’t really notice it himself but his words were slurring a little. But as soon as he was all the way up, he felt dizzy again and was starting to lean a little too far to the right and would have fallen again if his father didn’t catch him.

“Woah there. Stiles are you alright?” John asked worriedly.

“Y-yeah, why-why wouldn’t I be alright? I just need some sleep.” Stiles said, suddenly blinking sporadically. Also, his hands were shaking.

“Stiles? Why are you blinking like that? Stiles look at me!” But it was no use. Stiles went limp in his father’s arms.

The Sheriff was least to say worried. He called an ambulance right away. After hanging up, he checked Stiles for wounds. Making sure he wasn’t internally bleeding, or if he did have an actual head injury. But there wasn’t anything. Which made his worry even worse. There was something wrong that he couldn’t see and all he could do was wait for the ambulance.

_

Stiles woke up feeling very bad. For one, his neck hurt, probably because of the fact that whatever he was laying his head on, wasn’t his pillow. Then there was the beeping which was adding a throbbing pain to a headache he had come on.

He blinked a few times, trying to adjust his eyes to the bright light. His mouth was dry. His stomach also cramping heavily, leaving him feeling nauseous. His head felt too heavy to hold, leaving him feeling dizzy and winded.  It might be his imagination but he also feels his heart is beating fast. Not too fast, but a lot faster than it should have been with him just sitting down doing nothing. He wondered if he should be worried. But that thought was interrupted when his father walked into the room.

“You’re awake.” He said. Stiles couldn’t tell what impression he should get from that statement. He realized that he was in a hospital room, and he just was woken up, so at some point, he was unconscious and was brought here, not that he remembers why. But usually when someone woke up in a hospital the family of said person was happy. His father seemed… not too ecstatic. And it made Stiles a little angry, not that he knew why.

“Yep.” Stiles bit out. Not really knowing what else to say. Maybe asking why he was in the hospital was the good way to go. “Um, why am I here?” He asked, and his dad made a face that Stiles knew as a sign of anger.

“You don’t know why you’re here? Hmm. So everything I say to you just goes in one ear and out the other then?” The Sheriff asked.

“Um, no?”

“Oh, it doesn’t? So… what you just don’t care?”

“I don’t understand? What am I supposedly not caring about?”

“Your health, your life, what I say, any of it.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Stiles how many times have I gone over this, how many times have I sat you down and told you explicitly why this was dangerous, why you can’t mess around. How many times have I told you how I feel about this?”

“Feel what!?”

“About drugs Stiles!” That made Stiles pause. Drugs? What does that even have to do with this conversation?

“What?”

“Stiles I have told you hundreds of times you can’t do drugs, not at stupid parties, sleepovers, nothing! You know what it can do to your health. I have talked to you about it and so has your doctor! So why you have decided to do it I don’t know, but it must mean you don’t care about your life or your health.”

“Okay, um, I don’t really understand what is going on… but I’m not doing drugs.”

“Bullshit Stiles! You’re going to lie to me while you are laying in a hospital bed?”

“I don’t know why I am in a hospital bed, you still haven’t told me! And I’m not lying!”

“Stiles. What is it? A drug problem? Are you addicted?”

“Oh my god. Dad, I am completely lost right now, so this is what I have to say about all of this. I have no idea why I’m in the hospital, and I have not been doing drugs.”

“Stiles, you are in here because of a drug overdose. You could have died.”

“Drug overdose? I’m not doing drugs!” This was seriously confusing and ridiculous. His dad was acting like he was about to read him his rights and take him to jail. 

“Stiles, I don’t know what you hope to achieve by continuing to lie to me, to hide this. But you are in a hospital because of the fact that you overdosed. I checked your Adderall pills and they are all accounted for. So, it had to be something else you took. You can’t lie over blood tests and symptoms.” Apparently, John was done because he walked out of the room, slamming the door after that. Leaving Stiles more confused than ever. His dad was acting like this was a recurring problem. Even if Stiles had done drugs- which he hadn’t- this would be the first time and wouldn’t require such a guilt trip. Well, maybe it would. Abusing any drug is dangerous and bad. But mixing drugs is worse. Stiles knew that, and he took it seriously. He really did. He barely drank, and even then he tried to be responsible for it. He wasn’t about to just miss out on the teenage rebel years, was he? But he made a point. No drugs, no drugs ever, not under any circumstances. Maybe Stiles was just taken aback because he really hadn’t done anything.

He looked over at the clock on the wall and checked the time. Twelve-fifty-seven. He missed well into the school day, and it looks like he’s not getting discharged anytime soon. So he guessed one good thing came out of this whole situation. He sat up and fluffed his pillow a little and laid back down trying to make himself comfortable. He thought about it. If he didn’t do drugs, how did he overdose?

Something moved in the corner of his eye, taking him from the thought. When he turned his head ever-so-slightly he saw the silhouette of a person. He screamed. He wasn’t going to lie. It was a high-pitched, non-masculine scream.

But you can’t blame him. He recently has been having nightmares about a beast/man with red eyes and claws. So seeing something in the corner of his eye made him think the worst. He tried to get out of the bed, and out of the room. But those damn cords and that damn blanket, and his flailing arms made it nearly impossible.

The person grabbed him. Trying to kill him, or calm him down, he didn’t know, but let’s just say he was scared out of his mind, and if he could find that bed remote he would click the nurse button or call for help or something. But the hands on him were gone as fast as they appeared.

Whoever it was snatched them back with a hiss. He turned to look and it was Derek. Which caused Stiles to instantly deflate. Thank Jesus that it wasn’t that thing from his dreams.

“Jesus! Make yourself known man, I thought you were a monster or something.” Stiles said in relief, catching his breath.

“Sorry,” Derek said lamely looking at his hand in bewilderment.

“How did you get in here anyway?” Stiles said, also wondering when Derek got there. It must have been before he woke up. But would his dad have asked him all that stuff with Derek in the room? Well maybe since he was really worried. His dad had a real problem with drug use. Even more so than drinking.

“Would you believe me if I said the window?”

Stiles chuckled but stopped halfway through. There was something he forgot… About Derek…. Oh no. He stands up off of his bed quickly. And backs up as far to the wall as he can with all the cords attached to him.

“You were in jail!” Stiles said, once again scared. He and Scott are the reason he was caught. He could be here for revenge. Derek lifted his hands in surrender to help calm some of Stiles’ growing fear.

“I know what you’re thinking. I did not break out, I made bail. I just came to check on you.” Derek said honestly.

“My dad wouldn’t have let you in here. Bail or not. He wouldn’t let someone he suspects for murder see his son in the hospital.” Derek really must have snuck in through the window.

“Well, he doesn’t know I’m here.” Derek pointed out. Stiles opened his mouth, but then closed it. He didn’t know what to say to that. He didn’t know what to say to Derek. So Stiles did what he always does, he said the first thing that came to mind.

“Why did you kill your sister?”

Derek sighed. “I didn’t kill her.”

Stiles rolled his eyes. “Oh, so it’s normal for someone to find their dead sister and bury them on the side of their house, and not tell the police or anything.”

“It’s not normal, but I had my reasons.”

“Yeah, like hiding evidence. Little tip: When hiding the body, make sure you get both halves.”

“Stiles, I don’t expect you to understand or believe me. I didn’t come here to convince you of my innocence. I just needed to make sure you were alright.” 

“Well, I’m fine. Aside from major confusion. Like why I’m here, and why my dad won’t believe me, or why you even bothered to check on me when I’m the reason you got arrested.”

“Why are you here, what happened?”

“No one told you? How did you even know to come? Actually, how did you know what room I was in? And how did you get to the window? I have been in this hospital enough times to tell this is at least the second floor. And I doubt you just grabbed a latter.” Stiles rambled on as everything popped into his head.

Derek needed an answer and to stop the rambling so he walked around the bed and stood directly in front of him so he could make sure to grab his attention and make him focus.

“Stiles? Why are you here? What happened?” Derek asked again.

“I don’t know, drug overdose or something. My dad completely accused me of doing drugs and lying about it. But I don’t do drugs, I’m a good kid.” Stiles said, priding that fact about himself.

“When I met you, you were trying to buy alcohol,” Derek said, almost laughing at Stiles claiming to be a good kid.

“Hey that’s different, and I don’t do that all the time, and when I do I’m usually responsible and don’t take my Adderall beforehand,” Stiles said, justifying himself.

Derek rolled his eyes at that. Still not believing that made him a good kid. “Well, at least you know the position I’m in now.”

“What position would that be?” Stiles’ asked.

“Being accused of killing my sister.”

“That’s nowhere near the same.”

“Oh really, someone is accusing you of doing something that you didn’t do. There is a situation around you that makes you look guilty, so no matter what you say it seems like your lying when honestly you don’t know the full story yourself.” Derek said, and it was oddly strange how that description worked for both of their situations, but they were both different levels of importance. Like murder investigation, and mild drug overdose.

 

“Yeah well, the difference is that I have no drugs, my dad manages my pills, I have no idea where the drugs came from or how they got in my system. You, on the other hand, have only said you didn’t kill her, you haven’t denied once that you buried her when I’ve said it. So I know for a fact whether you killed her or not, have withheld and hidden evidence to a crime, which is a crime, and I don’t know you well enough to trust your word about anything.”

Derek leans closer, and Stiles suddenly realizes that Derek during the conversation has gotten closer than he was when he stepped around the bed. The room suddenly feels warmer, but it’s a comfortable warm, the kind that makes you think nice cozy thoughts. The kind that makes you relax. Stiles is really relaxed. Especially for being in a room, with a suspected murderer that climbed up into a more than one story room. Derek has this look in his eyes, it’s almost emotionless. But not in a scary way, but in a lost way. Derek is so close Stiles can smell him, and Derek smells like dirt and sweat. It’s weird, Stiles noticed it before, that Derek always had that earthy smell. Everyone has a smell, it’s something that only they smell like or maybe the people they live with. But Derek’s smell always reminded Stiles of nature for some reason, but he found it calming.

“Do you really not trust me?” Derek asked, just above a whisper. Stiles really had to question. Did he trust Derek? It was too much evidence looking out of Derek’s favor. Logic pointed him in the bad direction. The murderer direction.

“I trust that no matter how many times I ask you, you are going to say that you didn’t kill your sister,” Stiles said, whispering himself.

Derek smiles. “Do you trust me not to hurt you?”

That was an odd question. But not really since he knows Stiles suspects him for murder. What is trust? Is it belief? is it hope? Is it knowing? Is it faith? Is it something you can touch, can hold? Is it something you just feel, or maybe don’t feel?

Stiles didn’t feel like he was in danger. He knows that he should. This man was still honestly a stranger, if anything an acquaintance. Someone who bought him alcohol and took him to dinner. Someone his father wouldn’t approve as Stiles’ first boyfriend. Someone who could have taken the life of another person. Someone he wanted to do nothing more than kiss at that very moment.  His eyelids drooped as he tilted his head up, bringing himself closer to Derek’s face. Their lips almost touching, their warm breaths hitting each other.

“I don’t know.”

He guessed Derek took ‘not a no’ as a green light, and kissed him. Well if you could call it that. Something strange happened. Their lips touched, barley for a second. But Stiles swears he heard sizzling, like when you cook bacon. Derek jumped back, hands clutching his face, rubbing his lips. Stiles was confused.

“Derek, what’s wrong? Are you okay!?”

“Ah, damn it!” Derek said, still in pain. Stiles walked over, grabbing Derek’s hand to move it out of the way so he could see his face, but as soon as his hand touched Derek’s arm he jumped again like he had been burned. Which might actually maybe what’s happening. Considering there was a black handprint where Stiles had touched him. Stiles had to look at his hand and see if there was black paint on his hands or something. There wasn’t, and every time he touched Derek he burned.

“What the hell is this?” Stiles said starting to freak out.

Derek looked at his hand and groaned. “Wolfsbane.” He growled out.

“What?”

Derek looked over at Stiles, with wide eyes, realizing he said that out loud. Then looked back down to think of an explanation. “Um, it’s something I’m allergic to. You must have touched it. But that would mean it’s completely all over you. How come I can’t smell-.” Derek’s head snapped up looking at Stiles Incredulously. “You said you were brought in with drug overdose?”

“Yeah, but I didn’t do it. What does that have to do with anything anyway?” Stiles said, not understanding if it was relevant or Derek was changing the subject.

“You mean you don’t know how the drugs got into your system. So someone could have given it to you without you knowing.”

“Yeah I guess, but it’s not like I was drugged or anything unless it was my dad. Considering I was home all night and nothing happened until I woke up for school. And I don’t think it was him since he looked like he was about to send me to rehab when he came in here.”

“Do they know what drug it was?” Derek asked.

“Um, no? I don’t think so, and I guess that my dad would have brought it up earlier when he was questioning me if you could call it that.” Stiles said, knowing that he was going to still have to convince his dad he didn’t do anything. That was going to be fun.

Derek scratched his head, and thought for a moment, and started pacing. “It must be wolfsbane. That’s why your shirt was in the woods. He wanted me to come see you, he wanted me to be worried about you so I would come here and touch you. So I would find out that I can’t. Damn him!” Derek said still pacing. Practically glowing with anger.

But Stiles had to stop and take in what he was saying. “Back up. What? My shirt was in the woods?”

Derek wasn’t really paying attention to what he was saying he was trying to think, to figure something out. “Yeah, the one you wore to the diner, on our date,” Derek said waving his hand at Stiles’ like he would a fly flying around his ear.

Stiles needed to think. Derek still hadn’t told him how he knew Stiles was in the hospital. What is this about his shirt? How the hell did it get in the- Wait a second… someone was in his room. They moved stuff around. Like his clothes… So what? Someone put his shirt in the woods… to mess with Derek? What the heck does that have to do with wolfsbane, or even why he’s in the hospital?

“Why would someone do that? And what does that have to do with your allergy or whatever?” Stiles asked he wasn’t sure if he should be angry, confused, or having a panic attack.

“I don’t know for sure. I have to go. I’ll come back, or I’ll text you. I promise I will do one of the two. I swear.” And with that Derek left out the window he came in from. Leaving Stiles thinking of about thirty-billion reasons to pull his hair out in confusion.

All he knew was that this probably wasn’t good and that it mostly was all Derek’s fault. Great, this is exactly what he needed. A suspected murderer, promising to show up or text, because he found Stiles’ shirt in the woods, which apparently caused him to be so filled with worry he climbed up and snuck into a hospital to make sure he was okay, and now apparently Derek is allergic to Stiles’ skin, because of something called ‘wolfsbane’. What is that even? You know what? He was going to look it up, right now.

Stiles pressed his hand to his pocket, only to find he didn’t have one, because he wasn’t wearing pants, because he was in a hospital gown, because he was in a hospital, because he had a drug overdose, which caused his father to think he has some drug problem, so he probably confiscated his phone, to make him talk. In literally every other situation that would work. Stiles’ lived for his phone. But the problem is he wouldn’t know where to start. With the fact that he liked Derek, and was just about to kiss him in the hospital despite everything he knew. Or the fact that they have been on a date. Ooh, maybe the fact that someone broke into Stiles’ room, to mess with Derek.

Yep, this is all Derek’s fault.


	8. “And by the way. Yes, we’re dating, and I’m your boyfriend.”

Stiles was officially grounded. No xbox, no cell phone, no laptop except for school work, and Stiles’ personal punishment. No Adderall. Apparently, the only way for John to stop Stiles from having another drug overdose is to keep him from the drugs he has control over. Which effectively was going to make Stiles’ life a living hell. Like it always was whenever he stopped his Adderall suddenly. Stiles did all he could to try and convince his dad that he didn’t have a drug problem, but he wasn’t hearing it. Stiles’ didn’t really blame him. If anyone else had this same situation, he probably wouldn’t believe them. It wasn’t like he was being honest with his father completely anyway.

He couldn’t be real. How do you tell your dad you met this guy in the middle of the night in front of a liquor store, then gave him your number, went on a date with him, and then yeah, turns out he may have killed his sister. Also, there is this dude who broke into his house to steal a shirt to mess with the said guy. Yeah, that would go over well with convincing his dad why he was a good kid and didn’t do drugs. By the way. Derek didn’t come back. Or text. It’s not like Stiles made a point to stay awake so he wouldn’t be asleep when he got there. Or like he snuck out the room and stole his phone from his dad like the skillful child he was, and then checked it every five minutes in the case for some reason his phone didn’t ring when Derek texted him.

It’s not like he was disappointed or anything… What? He wasn’t!

When he got home his phone and other objects of communication were taken from him. So it looked like he wasn’t going to be talking to Derek anytime soon. Not unless he went back to that house. Which actually wasn’t going to happen. Like ever. A dead body, crime scene, creepy uncle. No… just no. Stiles kept having questions about everything floating in his head. Like why would someone use Stiles to mess with Derek? Why was someone even messing with Derek? Who was messing with Derek? And why with a shirt in the woods? How does that cause worry in someone?

Anyway, those were the annoying questions. There were other ones. Bad ones that worried him.

Like, if Derek was allergic to whatever wolfsbane was, how did it get inside of Stiles, and how did it case him to overdose.

Stiles had a few possible answers that troubled him.

If someone was messing with Derek, by using Stiles, then they could have given him wolfsbane. It’s very possible. Considering someone broke into his room to get his shirt. They could have easily gotten into his room to give it to him. That made it suddenly and ultimately worse. Did someone really drug Stiles? He could have died! He overdosed! If it wasn’t serious before (which it was) it was serious now.

Stiles wasn’t sure how to deal. Exactly how much danger was he in? Someone, someone he didn’t know, broke into his home to steal a shirt which he and his father were both there. Then this person came back and drugged Stiles. All to mess with Derek.

That’s a lot of danger.

Stiles wasn’t sure what to do. Was this mysterious person done using Stiles to get to Derek? If he wasn’t what was next. How long of a wait would it be? Would Stiles always be looking over his shoulder waiting for this guy?

The fear kept up his neck, and he was forced to stop his pacing because he thought he heard something behind him.

“Stiles.”

Stiles was going to wake up with white hair and be a mute one day if he gets scared one more time. It was Derek, and he decided that it was okay to climb up a window and into someone’s room and just climb in –without knocking- and say someone’s name in a deep voice. Seriously. Maybe he killed his sister by scaring her to death.

Stiles was so tempted to ask but then decided to be angry instead.

“Why are you always climbing up windows? And why are you so quiet? You do know this is a home invasion and you are already a suspect in a murder, how innocent do you look invading the sheriff’s house?” Stiles rapid fired questions at Derek angrily.

“Technically I’m visiting since I said I would come,” Derek grumbled. Sitting down on Stiles’ desk chair like it was no big deal he just scaled a wall, climbed into the window, and scared the shit out of Stiles. That ticked Stiles off and sent him on a rampage of questions. He couldn’t really stick to the subject because of his recent Adderall withdrawal.

“Two days ago, and that was to the hospital! Not my room. I can’t believe I waited for you, that I trusted you. Where were you? Hiding evidence. Who drugged me? Are they going to come after me again? Because I cannot handle this, it’s way too much, seriously. I’m just a teenager. Barely above age of consent, I’m still a virgin. I should be worrying about my virginity, not if the guy I like killed his sister, or if some dude is going to chop me up into pieces and send those to your creepy unfinished burnt down doorstep. And what is up with your house? Why is it only half house? How are you not always cold? How do you feel safe? I never feel safe, and I have a roof over my head. You’re probably just weird. I thought I was weird but I met you and your creepy uncle, and all are weird. Although is me trusting you making me weirder? Is that a thing? Weirder sounds like a weird word. But weird also sounds like a weird word. Weird. Weird. Weeierd. Wow, that’s going to bother me for the next few days. How are you doing by the way? Are you sad? Your sister is dead. Even if you killed her, you should be sad. Even killers have emotions, unless you don’t have emotions. There’s a word for it. Psychopath, or sociopath. Something path. But why does it have to be a path. Why can’t it be a road? It’s just not fair. Am I bothering you? Of course I am, I bother everyone. It’s who I am, I can’t help it. I never bothered my mom, but she died, so now I bother everyone. You should get used to it if you want to date me. Are we dating by the way? Are you my boyfriend? I want you to be my boyfriend. I like your lips, and kissing.  And eventually I wanna do sex with you. Get rid of this v-card, and see what all the fun is about. Plus- Mmmph.”

Derek couldn’t really keep up with Stiles’ words. He honestly tried, and it caused him to get a headache. He wanted to answer the questions but Stiles was rapid firing, and changing subjects. Derek barely could keep up and hear some of the things he was asking. Some of the words honestly came out mixed together. And Stiles never stopped for air. In the back of his head, he thought Stiles might pass out from lack of oxygen; Derek was willing to let Stiles tire himself out so he could finally get a word in, but he started talking about sex and it was going to get very awkward. So he stopped Stiles from talking the first way he could think of how.

He cut him off by kissing him. Which was a mistake, because Stiles still had wolfsbane in his system. It was such a new thing and experience for Derek. He had never met someone injected with wolfsbane. Sometimes people have touched it, and it would be on their hands or on their skin. But everything on Stiles just leaked wolfsbane. It was in his pours, in his hair, and mostly on his lips. Probably because it was in his saliva and Stiles had a tendency to lick his lips so much.

“Oh my gosh, when do you breathe?” Derek asked him after he pulled away from the kiss. Stiles still had his lips pursed not really caught up to speed. Wanting to kiss more.

“I um, I don’t know. Between sentences. I don’t require much oxygen to speak. I should be a singer. It seems like a good profession if you don’t need much oxygen. I don’t have a good voice, but it’s not bad. They can just fix anything up on the computer and stuff. You know I always wondered how that worked. How they can make a voice sound good. Do you know how? Never mind why would you know how? You have a great voice, it sends chills down my spine. It’s great. That’s weird, why did I say that. Huh. There’s that word again. Weird. Weeird. We-“

“Okay, Stiles. Please stop.” Derek says. Pleading that he doesn’t continue, he can’t afford to stop him with another kiss not wanting to get that burn again.

“Sorry, no Adderall Stage one,” Stiles says, sitting on his bed. “So where were you for two days?” he asks

“I was trying to figure out who killed my sister, and who gave you the wolfsbane,” Derek said sitting down on the bed next to Stiles. He sat close, but not touching, he wanted to touch Stiles so badly, and he couldn’t which is probably some great form of torture.

“Did you find anything?” Stiles asked. Interest piqued.

“No, I couldn’t track them in the woods. I know it’s a wer- It’s someone fast, strong and smart. And they want revenge for something.” Derek said, getting a serious look on his face. Well, Derek always had a serious look on his face. But this was more concentrated, more focused. It was because he was thinking back on everything he did the past two days looking for the missing piece, there was something he knew there was. He just wasn’t seeing it.

“How do you know that?” Stiles asked. 

“Because of a, um, note they left,” Derek said referring to the revenge. Skipping over the fast and strong part. Hopefully, Stiles wouldn’t catch that avoidance and move on.

“You should give it to my dad. I’m sure he can check for fingerprints, or maybe do that handwriting analysis thingy they do.  We can even have him check my room for fingerprints since the person has been in here.” Stiles said. Derek took a deep breath, but he didn’t seem to be doing it to calm himself down or like he really needed to take a deep breath. Honestly, it seemed like he was just doing it to inhale deeply. Like he was smelling the room.

After Derek Inhaled and exhaled he shakes his head.

“I doubt that they left any evidence in here, I can’t even catch a scent,” Derek said serious face still plastered on. He didn’t even realize what he just said.

“… Catch a scent? What kind of phrase-? Have you been trying to smell this guy? If you have no wonder you haven’t found him. Maybe you should, I don’t know… Tell the police so they are looking at you for murder.” Stiles said. Looking at Derek like he was some kind of crazy person. What if this was some multiple personality things and he is the killer. Stiles was sure there was a movie kind of just like that.

“They can’t do anything that I can’t,” Derek mumbled. Now remembering to watch what he says.

“Oh really. You can analyze DNA. Process fingerprints. Catch criminals? Really? Can you do that?” Stiles asked, trying to knock some sense into this obviously crazy person sitting beside him.

“No, but I can do other things.” Derek gritted out. He didn’t like having to bite his tongue, but he couldn’t explain this, not yet, not in the middle of everything wrong. Stiles wouldn’t understand and wouldn’t trust him. So for now. He has to be careful.

“Like what?” Stiles asked.

“It doesn’t matter,” Derek said trying to get Stiles to get over it.

“You’re not a vigilante, are you? I knew something was off with you living in that house and driving a Camaro. You're like Batman, do you have a costume? Is this guy your Joker?” Stiles asked, with sudden enthusiasm, and a smile on his face.

“’Batman’?” Derek asked. And that one-word question stopped crickets from chirping. 

“…”

“…”

“You’ve never seen Batman!?” Stiles yelled at the top of his lungs, face turning red, mouth agape in surprise. Thank goodness his father wasn’t home.

“It’s a movie? I thought it was a person.” Derek asked. 

“Who are you? What are you? How have you not seen or heard of Batman?” Stiles almost sobbed. This poor soul had never had the pleasure of Batman. He grabbed his movie case for the first Batman movie and shoved it in Derek’s face. Derek leaned back and grabbed the case. He squinted his eyes looking at it. And then pulled it close to his face and then farther away. Still squinting. After about thirty seconds Stiles lost patience.

“You can’t read?” Stiles asked, voice still leaking how upset and outraged that Derek had never even heard of Batman.

“I can, I’m just not so good with tiny words. That’s directly in my face. They all blur together.” Derek said, still trying to focus his eyes and read the case. 

“So you’re farsighted,” Stiles said, matter-of-factly. Still not very calm from the Batman incident.

“Yes,” Derek answered, even though he could tell it wasn’t a question.

“Where are your glasses?” Stiles asked.

“I don’t know I lost them,” Derek grumbled, giving Stiles the case back.

“And the sunglasses ones that you were wearing when I first met you?” Stiles asked as he put the case on his desk and sat back down on the bed.

“Those are missing too,” Derek said.

“You should keep up with them…” Stiles said, thinking how hypocritical that is, considering that he never can keep up with anything.

“I know that. I usually do, I don’t know where they went.” Derek said, sighing. It was literally like his glasses disappeared.

“Oh well. So what does your uncle think about all of this?” Stiles asked referring to his sister being murdered.

“…My uncle?” Derek asked.

“Yeah, Peter? I think that’s what he said his name was.” Stiles said thinking back to that night, making sure that was the name.

“I only have one uncle named Peter, and he’s in a coma. Has been for six years.” Derek said, confused.

“Well, all I know is when I went to your house I met a guy who said he was your uncle. Actually… He said it was a surprise he was back. Maybe he woke up?”

“No, the hospital would have called me right away… It was the night you left my phone on my porch?” Derek asked thinking about something.

“Yeah.”

“You were alone when I got there, though,” Derek said, trying to think about that night.

“Yeah, he left, he said he was only there to leave you a present in the woods, and he was just making sure you got it. Actually, I wasn’t even supposed to tell you he was back… whoops.”

Derek stood up at that. Face going from his resting serious to dangerously serious. Stiles had been yelled at by Derek before, but he could tell pissing Derek off for real was something he never wanted to do. 

“A present in the woods. That’s what he said?” Derek asked, voice climbing.

“Yeah. What was it?” Stiles asked, remembering Derek was carrying something when he came back.

“What did he look like?” Derek asked, skipping over Stiles’ question.

“I don’t know. It was dark. I could barely see the ground.”

“Just try and think,” Derek said, calming down and kneeling in front of Stiles, it was really important that Stiles remembered what this guy looked like. Derek had been trying to figure out who he was for the last two days and got nothing.

Stiles really did try to focus and remember all he could about that night, but he couldn’t focus. Not without his Adderall. His mind and his mouth were on different levels. He was speaking before he even noticed it.

“I was going to leave your phone on top of your car, but then he showed up… well, actually he was already there. And he told me it was a bad idea. He is the one who told me to leave it on the steps or whatever. He had shoulders. Wide shoulders, broad shoulders. Kind of short hair. Like to his chin, maybe slightly passed it. He kinda wore it back. Like not in front of his face at all. He was tall-ish, like about my height, if not a centimeter shorter. Ummm, I don’t know that’s about it.”  Stiles said. He looked at Derek and his hands were balled into fists.

“I have to go,” Derek said as he headed for the window, and Stiles quickly stood up.

“What? Already. You just got here.” Stiles said, hoping it didn’t sound as pathetic as he thought it did. It’s just that he really didn’t feel all that safe, even in his own home. Plus he’s twitchy all the time, he can’t call or text anybody, he is starved of social interaction.

“Stiles, the present was my sister’s dead body. I’m going to visit my uncle in the hospital, if he’s not there, I will know it’s him. If he is, then I’m back where I started.” Derek said starting to climb out of the window. But then stops halfway. “And by the way. Yes, we’re dating, and I’m your boyfriend.” Derek said giving Stiles a wink before fully jumping out the window.

Stiles wasn’t even trying to bite back the smile that grew on his face. How could this guy do this? Make him all flustered and warm. Even in the midst of everything, a dead girl, a guy who drugged him, and then Derek himself; who may or may not have killed his sister. All of those things and all he could think about was the look on Derek’s face when he said he was his boyfriend.


	9. “Dad, I need you to pick me up… oh and you might want to bring an ambulance with you.”

Stiles was finally given back his phone on Monday the next week. He almost cried. Almost. But he did hug it, then tell it how much he missed it, then peppered it with light kisses, and told it he would never let anyone take it from him again. His dad huffed, and rolled his eyes, and walked away mumbling something. Which he did to a lot of Stiles’ reactions as of late.

He couldn’t believe Stiles didn’t have an ounce of shame, or remorse, or guilt. John knew his son, and he knew that when Stiles did something wrong he felt bad about it. He can’t even delete his dad’s recorded T.V shows, to make room for his without immediately confessing as soon as he walks in the door. Stiles wasn’t even capable of killing a spider, although that was more about being deathly afraid of them, rather than feeling guilty. But still, Stiles was a good kid, with a strong sense of morality, and a good conscience. It was one of the things that made him a bad liar at times and a very good one at others.

The Sheriff was anything but a strict parent, and with a son like Stiles, it wasn’t really possible to be one. He let Stiles talk back, he let him go to sleepovers often, and when Stiles wanted to leave the house in the middle of the night because of a sudden craving for chocolate, the Sheriff let him. But something that could lead directly to Stiles’ death was something he in no way would take lightly. No matter how much Stiles said he didn’t do it, he just couldn’t believe him. Not when Stiles passed out in his arms, not when he saw the results from the lab, not when the doctor told him himself, not when Stiles went to a sleepover not two days before, and came straight home and washed his blankets and clothes. It took too much work for John to make Stiles do laundry on a biweekly basis, for there not to be something suspicious about Stiles washing his own stuff free of complaint, and a little bribing. 

He planned to just let it go like I said, no strict parenting. But he was going to keep an eye on Stiles. He was a teen after all, and there were plenty of things Stiles may have wanted to hide by washing his clothes. But that plus going out with that Lydia girl to the ‘store’ and then the next night, with someone the Sheriff doesn’t know who, but it wasn’t Scott.  And now this, Stiles passing out, because of an overdose. There really was too much stacked up against him. The Sheriff had no choice but to believe what he saw.

Taking Stiles’ Adderall was more of a punishment for him than it was for Stiles. After all, he would be subjected to the fidgeting, the pacing, the staying up all night, having to make sure Stiles was eating enough so he didn’t pass out, all that stuff. Just thinking about all the work that this was going to add for him made him want to give Stiles’ back his Adderall. But he didn’t, he couldn’t. Not when Stiles still denied using drugs. Not when there was a chance Stiles was still doing drugs. So, for now, he was just going to have to suffer the ever more impatient, fidgety, indecisive, jumpy Stiles. Which most people would like to believe wasn’t possible, but it was, John had lived with it for over ten years before Stiles was diagnosed. It was going to be a rough couple of weeks for the Stilinski’s

_

Derek hadn’t contacted Stiles since he came to his room. Stiles hoped that meant he was making progress and didn’t want to stop for any reason rather than a few scenarios where Derek skipped town, or he found the real killer and was murdered. Then the normal reason, he just didn’t care enough to contact Stiles.

Stiles was currently sitting in his jeep in front of the house deciding if he should text Derek. He didn’t want to seem needy. But at the same time, he wanted to show he cared enough to check in. But Derek was busy with something important, trying to find his sisters real killer (if Stiles was ready to believe that Derek didn’t really do it). But that important something was dangerous, and it would be understandable if Stiles just wanted to check on him every couple of days after complete radio silence. But Derek might just see him as a disturbance.  Stiles, after all, was just some teen he made out with. Derek was hot. He probably had sex on a regular basis. Like daily. What if Derek was having sex right now? Stiles didn’t know how to feel about that. Should he be mad? Derek did say they were dating and each other’s boyfriends. But he didn’t say whether they had an open relationship or not. Stiles hoped they didn’t, Derek would be the only one benefitting from it. Derek was the only one who showed interest in Stiles. What if he wanted to leave Stiles if Stiles didn’t want an open relationship? Should Stiles let them have an open relationship?

There are a whole bunch of downsides, STD’s, and that’s if they have sex, and Stiles wanted to have sex with Derek. But anal sex is one of the fastest ways to transfer STD’s. Then there was the fact that Derek could get someone pregnant. Wait! Was Derek into girls? What’s Derek’s middle name? His birthday? His social security number!? Stiles is just realizing he knows nothing about Derek other than what he looks like. And even that’s starting to fade. He doesn’t remember what color his eyes are! Stiles should really get to school!

Wait what?

Stiles looked at his phone and he was already late. How long had he been sitting in his car debating on whether or not to text Derek? Well, the debate would have to be continued later, he needed to get to school before they thought he was skipping. The last thing he needed was for them to call his dad, and for him to get in trouble again, for something that wasn’t his fault… Okay, this might be his fault, but Derek should have at least sent an ‘I’m alive’ text or something.

Stiles threw his phone into the passenger seat, and started his jeep and headed for school. He was speeding a little. He needed to get there as soon as possible. He may have had a father who was a Sherriff and he knew how dangerous it was, but he wasn’t going too fast. Just ten over the limit. He could easily slow down when needed.

Like if he saw one of the deputies, or another officer, or came upon a stop sign, or needed to turn, or-. Wow, he was really going on, was he babbling in his head, wow, he didn’t know that was possible. Ha-ha, the voice in his head was so weird, it sounded like him, but I didn’t have a sound. It was like a silent scream in his head. Hmm… he wondered if he could scream in his head. Ahhhhh! Yep. He could scream in his head that is so strange. He wondered if mute people had a voice in their head. And if they did, whose voice would it sound like?

Stiles hated getting up early in the morning, but when he did he didn’t regret it. Actually, not true, he always regretted waking up early. But he loved the way it looked as the sun came up. It was always so beautiful. He didn’t know if it was normal to not be a morning person but absolutely love the way the sky looked in the morning. Stiles would be a sad person if he never saw what it looked like. Or actually, that might not be true. What’s that saying? ‘You can’t miss what you never had.’ Stiles doesn’t remember who told him that, but it rang true. Never the less. He feels he is a better person for having seen it.

The colors in the sky mixed, and it looked purple. It made him think of food. Popsicles, and grape gummies. Which was strange first of all? Why was grape always purple when artificial? The only grapes he had ever seen are red and green. Where did purple come from? Who looked at a red and green grape and thought I’m going to make a candy that’s flavored like these, but make them purple. That’s just weird.

Stiles chuckled. There was that word again. Weird. He said that a lot. He should keep a tally of how many times he said it in a day. It seemed like a good idea, but it probably wasn’t, considering that he was reaching over the passenger seat to grab a piece of paper he knew he had on the floor. He took his eyes off the road for three seconds, and when he looked up there was someone standing in the middle of the street.

If Stiles hadn’t been speeding, he would have tried to step on the breaks. But he was speeding and he knew his jeep wasn’t going to stop in time, so he swerved. Dodging the person, but not a pole, good thing it was a body slam and not a head-on collision. That would have been worse.

That was the first thing he thought. About how worse it could have been. But not how bad it had been. His airbag had hit him in the face, and it hurt, bad. He felt like he had been punched. Multiple times, by a very strong person.

Then there were these painfully itchy feelings in his arms. Little tiny sharp pains all over. It made him want to scratch everything. His leg hurt too, banged painfully and is bent in a way that’s uncomfortable. He didn’t open his eyes though, he didn’t look and see, he didn’t scratch his arms. He just sat there, he felt tired suddenly. Maybe just a quick nap and everything would be fine after that. Stiles thought as his consciousness began to slip. He heard something. Crunching, it was over and over, and it got louder. What was that? Stiles thought.

Then there was another sound, like wrenching and screeching. It was loud, right in his ear, and it made Stiles wince. Then someone was grabbing him, pulling him out of the car, they were carrying him now, walking somewhere.

“Good thing the wolfsbane wore off. It would have made getting you out of the car a lot harder.” A man said.

Stiles’ first thought was Derek. He was the only person who ever brought up wolfsbane to him. But it wasn’t his voice. It wasn’t easy, but Stiles opened his eyes. It took a minute for his vision to clear, but when it did he was faced with a jawline that was vaguely familiar. The guy looked down at him with a smile, and Stiles just knew he had met the guy somewhere, but couldn’t put a name to the face.

“Who… Who are you?” Stiles asked, and the man looked at him with a fake offended face.

“You don’t remember me? It was only… what five days ago we met? I’m Peter, Derek’s uncle.” The man said.

If Stiles wasn’t already on the brink of passing out, he would have tried to get out of the man’s grip. To put some distance between them. To go back to his car and get his phone. Because the sly grin that curved on the man’s face told a different story than the polite tone of voice he was using.

All thoughts of this man waking up from a coma and simply wanting to surprise his nephew went out the window. Everything about his man screamed conniving, and just all things wrong. Plus there was the fact that this man knew Stiles had wolfsbane in him. Stiles didn’t know exactly what it was, or how Derek could be allergic to it. If the allergy ran in the family, it wouldn’t explain how this guy knew it was in Stiles in the first place. Unless he was spying on Stiles or Derek. Or even worse; that he had a hand in giving it to him.

There were so many things running through Stiles’ mind. Most of the questions.

Did you kill Derek’s sister? Were you the one to leave the body where Derek could find it? Did you break into my house? Did you drug me with wolfsbane? What the heck even is wolfsbane? Why were you standing in the middle of the street? Where are you taking me? What are you going to do to me?

All of those questions floating through his head, but he was slipping into unconsciousness before he had a chance to ask a single one of them.

_

When Derek left Stiles’ house he went straight back to the old Hale house. He didn’t check for his uncle’s scent. Even after the fires that burned there, Derek could still smell most of his family member’s scents. Not even the smell of burnt wood and plaster could cover the smell of the hale family. Their scent had been embedded in that house, generations and generations of the hale pack had lived there. They had made their mark and it wasn’t leaving.

Derek hadn’t thought to check for Peter’s smell, not that if he came across it, it would have raised any red flags. Peter’s smell, like the rest of the family, was still very present in the house. Smelling him was something that was so normal he had basically gone nose blind to it.

Derek would have liked to check the hospital first, but any scent was fading every day, and soon he wouldn’t be able to tell a fresh scent from an embedded one. So first he went to the house and sniffed. There was a very faint trace of Stiles’ scent. The only reason it lasted this long was that he was bleeding at the time. Derek felt bad thinking about that. Stiles had been at his house, bleeding, and he just yelled at him and told him to leave.

In his defense, he had just found his sister's dead body, well half of it. He was pretty emotional. He was only thinking about the fact that he was angry, and Stiles couldn’t see her. If it had been any other situation Derek would have at least checked on Stiles. Politely asked him to leave. Knowing that Stiles had met whoever it was who left the body just made him feel even worse about the situation.

Whether it was Peter, or someone claiming to be Peter if Derek had talked to Stiles, then maybe it would have come up, and he could have gotten the scent while it was still fresh. While the guy had been there not moments before. He would have been able to catch him. To get past all this runaround, and confusion.

There also wouldn’t be so much trouble. Like with Stiles being given wolfsbane. There was no doubt whoever killed Laura, gave him the wolfsbane. But their reason for doing it is the only thing Derek didn’t understand. Stiles wasn’t a werewolf, so the wolfsbane shouldn’t have had any effect on him. The only reason it did was that it didn’t react well to the Adderall in his system.

Did they plan on the mix of wolfsbane and Adderall killing Stiles? No, they couldn’t have. Why would an alpha go through all that trouble? They could have just cut Stiles’ neck or killed him the thousands of other ways that involved claws, and teeth, and supernatural strength and speed. They did such a messy kill with Laura, so it couldn’t that they were trying to keep it a secret they were killing. If anything was the deal, then why attack Stiles? Why target him?

Was it because Stiles met the guy? No that couldn’t have been it… If the guy had a problem with Stiles seeing him, he would have stayed hidden, this was a werewolf, an Alpha now that they killed Laura. They would have heard Stiles coming a mile away and would have stayed out of sight. This guy wanted to meet Stiles. But why? And then why attack him?

What if it wasn’t an attack? What if Stiles wasn’t a target. After all, it would have done nothing to him if they hadn’t slipped the fact that it might have had a bad reaction to the Adderall. This was about making it so Derek couldn’t touch Stiles. This guy found out that Derek had been on a date with him. Stiles said they met when he was returning the phone. The guy talked to Stiles to get some context, to get closer, a better smell of Stiles. He must have smelt Derek all over him. They did make out in the parking lot. His scent would have been layered over him. Derek may or may not have done that on purpose. What can you expect? He is a possessive wolf... it’s what they do!

Anyway, that meant this guy did this to Stiles to mess with Derek. But was his problem just with Derek or with all the Hales? If this was Peter, why would he kill Laura? His own flesh and blood. Someone who lost as much as him. A family, a home, a pack. If he was awake, why didn’t he just contact them?

That’s what made Derek confused the most. Peter had been in a coma for six years. If he woke up, which Derek doubted, why he didn’t just call him up? Why would he kill Laura? Why would he sneak around? It’s not that Derek didn’t believe it was him, but just that it seemed to lack motive. That there wasn’t a reason Peter would come after his remaining family members. Or Stiles, just because of his connection to Derek. It does not ask if touching Stiles while the wolfsbane was in his system would have killed Derek. It was like it was just meant to separate them, for a short time too. It wouldn’t stay in Stiles’ system for more than a few days.

It wasn’t anything major, the guy could have broken one of Stiles’ legs. Burned his house down. Anything. But instead, this guy did something petty and short-lived. Now that he thought about it, it had Peter’s M.O. written all over it. He like the small and petty wins. He liked to win all the arguments, big or small. He liked to draw things out, slowly escalating them. He always had a flair for the dramatics. He would wake up from a coma and want to slowly make a surprising entrance.

But Peter wouldn’t just kill Laura for a dramatic entrance. There was something else to it.

Derek couldn’t find a distinguishable scent. The wind had blown away anything strong, or that he could follow. So he gave up on scents and decided it was time to visit his uncle Peter in the hospital.

When Derek got to the hospital he was sad to say he was disappointed to find Peter in his usual comatose-like state. Awake, but asleep inside. He was in a wheelchair, facing the window. Just staring blankly. Barely blinking. Derek remembered why he stopped visiting.

Peters' face. Half-burnt. It was a constant reminder of what happened. Peter had lost his consciousness, and the rest of their family had lost their lives. It was him, Laura, and Cora. Now Laura was dead. It was hard for Derek to admit it to himself. Because it was a horrible thing. Because he wished it was Peter. Not because he knew Peter, not because it was better to know who was after him. But because it would have been a weight off his shoulders. If Peter was out there killing, he wouldn’t need to have so much guilt.

Peter wasn’t a saint before this happened. Peter was manipulative and sassy. He liked using people, like having people do what he said, and bend to his will. He wouldn’t even have specific things he wanted from people, just the fact that he knew he affected their lives in some way.

Peter first tried it with Derek when they were both teens. He tried to teach Derek to control the shift. It didn’t work out very well, and Derek ended up learning his own way. Through anger. But Peter wasn’t satisfied, so he budded into Derek’s relationship with Paige. He manipulated Derek into thinking that he needed to turn her. Peter probably never meant for her to die. It was something you never know, it was rare for a teenager to reject the bite, for them to die from it. But that didn’t stop Derek from carrying some hate for Peter because of that.

But that hate seemed to dissipate every time Derek looked at his face. Derek was responsible for the death of his family, and this sad, broken version of Peter, and it haunted Derek every day. He tried getting past it. But how do you get past something, when you know its sitting here in a hospital, every day. When there is a home, right outside of the preserve, still so full of his family’s scent. When his little sister is somewhere out there, not wanting to be around Derek because she knows he was to blame. Laura was nice, she didn’t blame Derek. But Cora did. She was so angry, so hurt, she couldn’t look at Derek, she couldn’t stay in beacon hills.

It would just be that much better if he didn’t have Peter and her weighing down on him. But it wasn’t Peter. He was still in the hospital, still unmoving, still dead inside.

_

Stiles woke up sitting down leaned against a car. He shifted as started to wake. He’s confused at first, wondering where he was. He looked around and found that he must be in the basement of a parking garage. He had no idea what time it was. There was no windows or anything, so he couldn’t even use the sun to help guess what time of day it was. It felt like he slept for hours, well maybe that was just because he didn’t remember falling asleep in a parking garage.

He vaguely remembered driving to school. Then… nothing. Something happened. He just couldn’t put his finger on it. He looked down at himself to find tiny little bruises and cuts on his arms, and there was a large blood stain on his right pant leg. He tried not to whine about how these were his favorite jeans, because of priorities. There was a lot of blood on him, and guessing from the cuts, it was his blood. He carefully rolled up his pant leg, and saw a huge gash, going from the inside of his knee to just below the center of the front of his knee.

He felt queasy just looking at it. Tiny cuts, he could handle. A little blood, he could almost handle. But gashes, and large wounds, he could not handle. He needed to look at the ceiling to keep himself from fainting.

He took a few deep breathes and tried to remember what happened. How he got hurt and ended up in a parking garage. He couldn’t remember anything. All he remembered was getting in his jeep and debating to text Derek. After that, he should have driven to school… so maybe a car accident? But if that’s what happened, then how did he end up in a garage? Wouldn’t he be in a hospital? Stiles wouldn’t come here for no reason, and last time he checked the only place he had in mind to go was school.

Stiles’ thoughts were interrupted by an elevator ding. He turned and looked at the elevator doors open. A man came out, running towards Stiles, Stiles didn’t whether to be happy or scared. But he didn’t have time to really think about it, because the guy was standing in front of him before he knew it.

“Stiles! Your awake, that’s good.”

“…Who are…?” Then all of the memories flooded back in. He cashed his jeep, and this guy carried him away. This guy, Peter Hale, Derek’s uncle. Stiles didn’t know what to do. He couldn’t run away with his leg hurt, and he didn’t know what this guy wanted from him. “Why did you bring me here?” Stiles asked instead.

“Oh, well, I didn’t know where else to take you. I’m not sure you would have enjoyed the hospital, while we had this conversation.” Peter said as he sat down on the ground in front of Stiles.

“What conversation?” Stiles asked.

“I’m going to open your eyes to the truth,” Peter said.

“Okay… Um, not quite sure what that means, but I do think I would enjoy a bed, medical attention, and warmth right now. Considering, you know, I’m bleeding… possibly to death.” Stiles pointed out.

“Oh your fine, this will be quick. What do you know about Derek? What has he told you?” Peter asked.

“Look, I don’t really get what’s going on right now-” Stiles started but Peter cut him off.

“Just answer the question.”

“I don’t know. His name is Derek, and he’s hot, and thinks I’m cute.-” Stiles said, listing the first things that came to his mind when someone said the name, Derek Hale. Peter rolled his eyes, trying to get to the point, he cut of Stiles again.

“But you know about his sister right, Laura?” Peter asked. 

“Yeah, from my dad, the Sheriff,” Stiles added to make this guy think twice about doing anything to him.

“Yes, I imagine you hear a lot about cases from him.”

“Not really, I sneak looks at files he brings home,” Stiles said shrugging his shoulders, which he wishes he didn’t do since it caused pain in his neck.

“Curious little cat aren’t you?” Peter said, in a low and interested tone. Stiles didn’t know how to respond to that comment so he didn’t.

“So you know Derek is a suspect in her murder,” Peter said, and Stiles was starting to get exactly where this conversation was going. He was going to try and give Stiles his opinion on Derek and this whole thing. 

“Yes, and I know he said he didn’t do it, and he still stands by that claim,” Stiles said, wanting to cross his arms but knowing the last time he moved it caused pain and decided against it. It sucked because is seriously hindered his unspoken sass.

“Yes, but do you believe it? That he’s innocent, that he didn’t kill her?”

“I would like to believe he didn’t kill her. But honestly, I won’t really know until the real killer is caught.”  Stiles said, and it was an honest opinion. He really wouldn’t know, Derek buried her body, which he never explained why he did that, innocent people don’t bury dead bodies for no reason. He also didn’t tell the police, he’s running around town like he can solve this case himself, Derek could be trying to frame someone else as they spoke. Stiles really hope it wasn’t Derek, because he likes Derek, and dating him will be really hard if he’s in jail. But he is not about to put himself in denial about this. He knew better than that.

“Hmmm, I like your honesty, and I’m happy you think that way. It makes this conversation that much easier.”

“I still don’t understand exactly what you want,” Stiles said. Peter looked him dead in the eyes, with the most serious face he has shone so far.

“I want Derek to pay for what he’s done, I want him behind bars. In jail, where he belongs. He is a murderer, and he’s killed before.”

“…What?” Stiles asked.

“Stiles, the police let him out on bail because all they have is him hiding a body. A good lawyer, a decent poker face, stupid jurors and he’ll be found not guilty so fast it will make your head spin. Derek is an expert liar, he’s been doing it since childhood. He’s been killing since he was a teen.”

“Okay, I don’t know what this is. Some joke, some trick, or whatever, but I don’t believe you. This sounds completely made up. Like one of those stupid tv shows that talk about old crimes that never even happened.”

“I don’t know which shows you’re referring to, but I’m telling the truth. Although I’m his uncle, Derek and I are close in age. We went to high school together. We were close. Which is probably why I’m the only one who sees him for who he really is.”

“Oh? And who is he?”

“I just said it. He’s a killer.”

“Yeah right, my dad ran his fingerprints and DNA, if Derek was in the system for murder, he would have never made bail.”

“I never said he was caught.”

“Then who’d he kill? And why didn’t you tell anyone?”

“The first person that I know he killed was his girlfriend Paige.”

Was it bad that Stiles’ first thought on that sentence was Derek was Bi? Nah.

“So what, he just told you this? And there some girl named Paige missing?”

“He was my nephew, but we were more like brothers, I saw him kill her. I didn’t say anything because I didn’t know what to say. I was just a teenager, and I was scarred by seeing someone die for the first time. He poisoned her, she was bleeding this black stuff. It gruesome, but the worst part I think was that it didn’t kill her, it made suffer, she was begging for it to stop and after a couple of minutes, He snapped her neck with his bare hands.”

“H-how was there not a murder investigation? How was he not caught?”

“Because afterward, he dragged her body to the woods, and wild animals feed off of her, and it had looked like she’d fallen out of a tree and broke her neck, and the animals did the rest. They never checked for poison, they never thought to look for signs of murder. There was a body, and a cause of death and Derek was Scott free.”

“That just means there is nothing to back up this story of yours, you could be using this poor girl’s death to make Derek look bad.”

“Stiles, I thought you were objective, that you weren’t in denial.”

“I’m not in denial, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to blindly listen to this story you’re giving me. Because I don’t know you or trust you.”

“Fine, Derek really likes you, so ask him about it. He might just be honest…” Peter stood up and reached into his pocket to grab something. Stiles feared it may be a knife or something else that could be used to inflict pain on him. But it was Stiles’ phone. But it was in the jeep, so Peter must have gone back into the jeep and got it. Why is an important question, but Stiles, decided that may not be a good idea. “So call him, have him pick you up, ask him yourself. Oh and also ask him about the fire that killed our family, I wonder what will have to say about that.”

Peter tossed Stiles his phone and then walked away, Stiles didn’t do anything with it until Peter was in the elevator and the doors closed. Then he thought about everything Peter told him. There was no way he just did that out of the goodness of his heart. Or even of a sudden guilty conscience.

Stiles thumbed through Derek’s phone contact and hesitated. What if Peter was being honest? What if Derek was really a killer? Would it really be a good idea to be around someone like that as helpless as Stiles is right now?

Stiles just met Derek, and he was already unbelievably emotionally attached to him. But he barely knew him. He lives in a house that’s burnt down. He buried his sister’s body. He bought alcohol for teenagers. He just got back into town and all this is happening.

One thing is for sure, he can’t take peters word for it. But being with Derek might not be the best idea. Stiles closed out of Derek’s contact and called someone else instead.

“Hello?”

“Dad, I need you to pick me up… oh and you might want to bring an ambulance with you.”


	10. Because Derek too had gotten very attached in the short amount of time he had gotten to know Stiles, and he wasn’t prepared to lose him like this.

Derek had to think logically since his sense of smell wasn’t going to do anything for him anymore. The scent was long gone, and Peter was still comatose.

He needed to think who would do this, who would kill Laura, and presumably be plotting right now to kill him. Or frame him for her murder. He had to admit, burying her without knowing where her other half was, was reckless. Especially right in the yard. He brought this on himself, playing right into this person and the police’s hands.

But now was not the time for dwelling, but the time for thinking. What exactly did this person gain?

They became an alpha no doubt since they killed her. Unless it was already an alpha, or it was a human. That was the problem, he didn’t know anything about this person. He didn’t even know if it was more than one person.

All he knows is one guy was at his house that night, he talked to Stiles and claimed to be his uncle Peter. Why would he do that? What did he gain by lying? Did they know Stiles would tell him and that would send him straight to the hospital? That didn’t make sense. It took what five minutes for Derek to get to the hospital and see that Peter is still there, well, not still there, but still paralyzed, dead inside, still in the hospital, not a new alpha. It couldn’t have been a diversion. Well, not a good one.

Not that this person needed one since he still was exactly where he started. Angry, and without an outlet. Like he normally did, he lashed out. Howling at the moon, and running through the woods in his half shifted form, killing a dear, and throwing heavy things he found to cause destruction.

So it looked like thinking logically was out of the question for that day.

_

Stiles was in the hospital for the second time in two weeks. His father was more worried than angry as he questioned Stiles.

“Were you speeding?”

“No, dad.” Stiles lied, but it wasn’t that much, and not his fault anyway you look at it.

“Were you texting?”

“No, dad,” Stiles answered rolling his eyes, he knew better than that, he wasn’t stupid. Besides the only other people, he would be texting would have been driving to school themselves, and he wasn’t friends with stupid people. However, he might be a little stupid considering he was grabbing his notepad instead of looking at the road.

“Were you high? Drunk? Just be honest with me.” His dad said almost desperate.

“No, Dad! Oh my gosh, a guy stepped out in the middle of the street.”

“If that’s all that happened, then how did you end up all the way across town? In a parking garage basement?”

“I don’t remember.” Stiles was keeping the whole Peter part a secret for now. He didn’t know what to say. He was kidnapped, but not really for more than five minutes. And if it turned out Peter was telling the truth, then it was a good thing that he did, rather than he didn’t. Besides, explaining why he knew Peter, and why Peter singled him out to tell him this, was too much trouble for Stiles to be risking before even knowing if the information was legitimate.

He was just going to have to wait until they let him go home, and he could look this stuff up on the internet. He wasn’t ready to face Derek yet. There were just too many if, and’s, and buts. He needed something solid, something that gave him more than a little bit of doubt. He needed facts, and possibilities, He needed the truth, and before he asked Derek about it, he was going to be informed by unbiased information.

_

Derek was out of breath. He had been angry, running around the woods all night. He hadn’t meant to do that. He never means to act out on his anger. But lately, that’s all he seems to feel. Every emotion leads to anger.

Like Laura’s death. He didn’t get sad. He didn’t cry. He got angry. Maybe that was a respectable and normal response to your sister being murdered. But this was with everything. He always found himself angry at something. Like his hose, he was angry, at Kate, at himself, at the fact that it was forever a reminder of his mistake. At how he could never bring himself to abandon that house.

He was angry all the time, he lets is ground him, so he could control his wolf. But it was also something that made him slip out of control. Anger was unstable like that. You can use it and harvest it all you want, but once in a while everything just slips.

Maybe that’s why he kept from people. Why he had no social contact.

It wasn’t that Derek didn’t like people, because he did, he loved having friends, and someone he could confide in. He loved hanging out, going to movies, dinner, the park to play basketball. He was always a sweet talker, and he flirted with everyone, but they all knew he was loyal, and just being playful. He prided the fact that he was the best at keeping secrets. He was the one everyone told stuff too. Because they all trusted him and knew he wasn’t one to judge or spread rumors.

He missed that.

He would never, ever say that out loud. But it was true. Ever since the fire he hadn’t had that. He shut people out. Became the creepy asshole, who everyone either hated or felt pity for. Most of his old friends probably forgot about him.

It was strange because he didn’t realize how much he missed it until he saw Stiles for the first time. In high school, he and Stiles would have been best friends. Stiles was his favorite type of person. Unpredictable, but in a good way.

Like he would say something at random that would make you bust out laughing. Even if he didn’t mean to. He was energetic and witty. There was this aura around Stiles that drew Derek in.

Walking home in the middle of the night, Derek had no intentions of talking to anyone. He was tired and just wanted to go to sleep. But just passing Stiles’ jeep was enough to stop Derek in his tracks. It hit him like a strong gust of wind. Stiles scent. It flooded into his nose. Then the sound of him tapping his fingers on the steering wheel. Derek didn’t know how he got the strength, but he used it to keep himself from running over to the car and talking to Stiles.

He was able to keep a clear head, but that need to talk to Stiles, to know him, it was strong. He saw Lydia and heard her problem. He could smell Stiles’ scent all over her. So he knew she had to have come with Stiles.

He sprang into action before he could really think about the consciences. Which turned out, to be Stiles thinking he was some sort of pedophile. Derek was lucky Stiles gave him his real number when he asked. Or that Stiles even got out the car.

But then again, at the same time, he felt a little angry. Actually no. He felt protective and worried. Because Stiles had gotten out of the car, where he thought that Derek wanted sex from him. If it had been anyone else, Stiles would have been raped. And that wasn’t all, he could have been kidnapped, or he could have caught a sexual disease and the billions of other things that could have gone wrong.  

Derek had to keep an eye on Stiles because Stiles was smart but foolish. He had little willpower and seemed like the type to bend under peer pressure and feel the need to prove himself. That was dangerous. It made Derek worry about Stiles a little. He would make sure to go see him soon. But now he was tired, worn out after running around wreaking havoc on the woods.

_

Stiles was in the hospital for two days, and that was only because they had to wait for ex-rays before they did anything other than giving him pain medication. His leg wasn’t broken thankfully. But he did get stitches, and they wanted him to lay off his leg for a while, while it healed. So now he was home and it was time to do some research. But he didn’t know what to research. Where did he start?

According to Peter, there was nothing to tie Derek to any of those things, the fire, that girl Paige or else Stiles wouldn’t need to be looking it up, because he would have been charged and convicted of those things. But Stiles still needed to know, he needed to see if there was any truth to what he said.

So his first task, looking up the Paige. But he didn’t exactly have the last name. Where did he start? Just looking up her name wouldn’t have done anything good. Looking up dead Paige would have been just as useless. He didn’t even have the year this happened. He would have gotten all dead Paige’s of all time. So he decided to skip that for now and move on to the fire. What were the chances of there being more than one Hale family fire?

So he typed that into the search bar and got articles upon articles about it. Apparently, the Hales were a well-known and big family in Beacon Hills. It seemed every news article in beacon hills did a whole section on it. 

Stiles clicked on the first one and read it out loud to himself.

“The Hale family suffered a great loss this week. While the entire family was home the house caught fire killing almost the entire family. The only survivors of the family are Derek Hale the eldest son of Talia Hale. Laura Hale, the eldest daughter of Talia Hale, and younger sister Cora Hale. Peter Hale also survived the fire, but suffered grave injuries and had been put in a medically induced coma.”

Stiles stopped reading that part. The entire family was home, and only four of them got out? Something about that wasn’t right. If all of them were home maybe someone should have seen the fire start and warned the others. Right? He skimmed through trying to see the cause of the fire.

“The police currently have no cause of the fire, but there are rumors of Arson. Most of the Hale family had been trapped in the basement, unable to get out of the house.”

There was no doubt in Stiles’ mind that it was arson. There was no way that many people were in the house and only four of them got out. Especially based on the pictures of the house. Some of them were after the fire, and most of them were at the house was burning. He could tell the fire was going up. Starting from the bottom of the house. Probably the basement.

The article didn’t say how exactly they were trapped in the basement, but he no doubt bet it was because they were locked down there. There was a picture of Peter, with his injuries in a hospital bed.

Stiles thought about what Peter said. How he wanted Derek where he belonged. Peter really had been injured in the fire and lost almost all of his family to it. The police really believed it was arson, and Peter was really injured, and Derek got out of the fire unscathed.

So what if Peter was telling the truth? Would Derek really burn down his family home with all of his family inside? Stiles didn’t know. He didn’t know, anything, all he knew was that Derek’s family died in a fire. Peter didn’t say much. He just said to ask Derek about it.

Stiles looked at the phone that was next to him charging. He should call Derek. Get his version of events. But what if Derek was this killer. Stiles just accusing him could be dangerous. So he closed his laptop. And laid down on his bed.

He thought about Derek when they met, hoe scared he was, and how Derek turned out to be this nice guy. How he called Stiles cute and wanted his number. He thought about Derek’s smile. Derek didn’t seem like a murderer. Or like someone who could kill his family and still walk around, seeming like such a normal guy.

Stiles couldn’t think about that, he had to make up his homework for Monday and Tuesday when he goes back tomorrow. His dad was going to drive him in the morning. So he went to sleep.

_

Derek woke up a couple of hours later. He should go talk to Stiles. But what about? Should he tell Stiles? How he’s back to square one?

That’s not going to help anything. But neither will be sitting around. He needs to figure out who this guy is and what he wants. What his next move is. It could be anything, this guy could attack Derek, or Stiles, or start turning people. But who? Does this person have an ideal pack in mind, or is this just a random snatch for power?

It couldn’t be. This person got the drop on Laura. She was a good wolf, a better alpha. There was no way a random beta was able to kill her. This person had to be smart, cunning, and strong. It had to be planned. Which means this person has to have a plan for afterward right? But what is it?

He was here, at the house while Derek was in the woods. They saw Stiles and decided to take to him, why? Why didn’t they attack him, why didn’t they attack Stiles? Why did they threaten him with Stiles’ shirt in the woods? Why did they give him wolfsbane? It kept Stiles away from Derek sure, but also away from them right?

What did they gain by that? By Derek being away from Stiles?

Derek’s first reaction was to find out who gave it to Stiles. No, it wasn’t. It was to stop touching Stiles. Stiles doesn’t know about werewolves, and Derek intends to keep it that way, so he was just going to stay away from Stiles for now until it wore off.

Then something in Derek’s head clicked, and that’s when he realized.

That’s what they got! Derek didn’t bother checking in with Stiles for the past four days because he couldn’t touch him, and being around him would only give Derek more chances to slip up about werewolf stuff!

They got Stiles alone. Derek looked at the time on his phone, it was 11:30. It was also Wednesday so Stiles would be at school right now. That didn’t matter though. Derek ran outside got in his jeep and drove over to the school. He needed to talk to Stiles, and see why this guy wanted Derek away from Stiles so bad.

_

Stiles was on time for school in the morning, although he really wanted to sleep in, or not go at all. But his dad had to drive him, which meant there was no sleeping in and not being late.

He was basically a zombie for the first hour because his pain medication made him drowsy. But it wore off a little by the second hour, and he was able to pay attention for most of the class, well as much attention as he could without his Adderall. Since his father still insisted on keeping them from him.

He really didn’t know how to convince his dad. It’s not like he could tell the truth like that would even help. He’s not sure his dad believes anything he says anymore. Especially not after he crashed his jeep and ended up across town with a broken leg. But Stiles couldn’t exactly tell his dad he was kidnapped for about five minutes.

But then again, why couldn’t he? So what, Peter would be arrested, it’s not like he’s innocent. He stood in the middle of the freaking street. If Stiles didn’t crash his jeep, he could have hit Peter. Why did he have so much faith Stiles wouldn’t hit him? Why did he even tell Stiles about this?

It’s like the world just wants Stiles to suffer will all of these secrets and choices. Why is this happening to him? Why as soon as he has to stop taking his Adderall. He was indecisive enough when he was on it. When he wasn’t it was just nothing, no choices got made because he couldn’t even decide, there was always too much debating. Like now, he was debating on texting Derek or not.

On what he believed about this or not. On why Peter would come to him instead of the police if he was telling the truth, and why bother lying if he was lying. If he was ling it would have been easy for Stiles to find out that he was. Or even if he told his dad about it and they arrested Stiles again, and they question him about the fire, and Paige, if he was lying they would have found Derek innocent, and that would be it. It was like there was no end game to this. At least no endgame that Stiles could see.

But maybe that’s because he was looking at it like Derek was innocent in both scenarios. If Derek wasn’t innocent. Then Peter was telling the truth, and Derek belonged in jail, and Stiles had to tell his father everything.

But that was too much to think about it right now. It was 11:40 and time for lunch. Which meant it was time to start the ten-minute inner debate on if he should get nachos or pizza. About five minutes into the debate his phone vibrated in his pocket. He would have ignored it until he finished his debate, but it was probably his dad checking on him. He was surprised to find it was Derek who texted him.

_From Derek: Come outside._

Stiles was confused and had to double check to make sure that he read the name right and it was Derek who sent him the message.

_To Derek: What?_

_From Derek: Come outside._

_To Derek: I’m at school_

_From Derek: I know that, will you come outside of the building._

_Stiles rolled his eyes, what if he wasn’t allowed to leave him…_

_To Derek: The front of the school or the back?_

_From Derek: The back._

Stiles left the lunch room, hoping they would still be serving lunch by the time he got back. But he was honestly more worried about talking to Derek. Why was Derek just here all of a sudden? Why didn’t he wait and talk to him after school? Or maybe even just text him before showing up at the school? Was it urgent? Did he know Peter talked to him? Was he in trouble? He shouldn’t be alone with Derek right now. Not until he knew the truth, but the only way he was going to get the truth would be asking Derek about it. But then again that’s also flawed because Derek could lie to him. But he needed to ask and he intended to do so when he got out there.

Derek was standing next to his car, right next to the sidewalk. Stiles took a deep breath when he saw him. But walked over. Well more like limped because the pain medication was wearing off and it hurt a little to walk on his leg but he was fine enough, he spent most of the day sitting anyway.  

Derek immediately noticed that Stiles was limping and was worried and walked up to him and met him halfway.

“You’re hurt,” Derek said looking at Stiles’ leg as if he would see whatever the injury us through his sweatpants. 

“Yeah, but its fine.”

“What happened?”

Stiles’ heart started beating fast, he was wondering if he should just bring it up. The whole Peter thing, if he says it outright, Derek might lie. He needed him, to tell the truth.

“I crashed my jeep. I’m fine it’s just a couple of stitches.”

“You shouldn’t be walking on it. You should sit down.” Derek said, his hands when up as if he was about to touch Stiles, probably to lead him over to one of the two benches on either side of them. But he stopped halfway, and Stiles remembered that Derek must not know about the wolfsbane wearing off.

“it’s gone now, out of my system, the wolfsbane.”

“It is? How do you know?” Derek asked.

“Because… Peter told me.”

“What?”

“Peter told me the wolfsbane was out of my system.”

“You talked to him? The guy that said his name was Peter.”

“I talked to Peter, yes.”

“Stiles, the guy you talked to wasn’t my uncle, I went to visit him and he is still there in the hospital. Sitting in that chair lifeless.”

“No, he was your uncle, I saw a picture of him online, it was him.”

“Online where?”

“On the article about your family fire.”

“… Why were you looking at an article about the fire?”

“Because Peter mentioned it, and I thought if I would see for myself if what he said was true.”

“What did he say?”

“That it was your fault… was it?”

Derek was silent for a while after that. And the silence said more than Derek probably ever would. Stiles knew that hesitation. He saw it for what it was. It was guilt, whether Derek felt it, or someone was finally seeing he wasn’t innocent. Derek was caught off guard, and instead of immediately claiming innocence, he hesitated. Stiles didn’t need Derek to answer, but he wanted him to. He wanted to hear his words.

“That’s not all he told me. He told me about Paige…”

Something in Derek’s eye’s changed when Stiles’ said Paige’s name.

“What about Paige?”

“That you killed her… Did you?”

Derek hesitated again, but Stiles was going to push he was going to make him answer.

“Did you kill her?”

“Yes.”

“And the fire?”

“It was my fault.”

Stiles wasn’t angry. Not at Peter, not even at Derek, but himself. Because he was hurt. Because no matter how many times he told himself to look at the situation objectively he didn’t. In the back of his mind, he assumed Derek was innocent. That there was no way he was capable of those things. He deep down let himself believe Peter was a liar, and Derek was the one to be trusted.

Derek the one who buried his sister’s body, Derek who got back into town around the time she was murdered. Derek who wears sunglasses at night, prescription or not. Derek who bought alcohol for teens. Derek who climbed into Stiles window, effortlessly. Derek who his father had written down as a suspect. Derek who he just met. Derek. The guy who Stiles got strangely attached to in such a short amount of time. Derek, who now equally scared, and disappointed Stiles at the same time. 

Stiles felt the burning behind his eyes, and he had to get out of there because he didn’t want Derek to see how much faith Stiles had in him, and how he just lost it all. Stiles turned around and began walking back to the school.

“Stiles wait,” Derek said.

“No! Go away, don’t call me, don’t text me! Never talk to me again!” Stiles yelled without turning around and then ran into the school.

Derek just stood there, because this was the reaction he expected from anyone who ever found out. He was a monster, he was the reason his family was dead, and he was responsible for the death of his girlfriend Paige. The color of his eyes told that tale. And it would for the rest of his life. But it hurt more than he expected. He wanted to explain it all to Stiles in hopes he would understand, that Stiles would forgive him. Because Derek too had gotten very attached in the short amount of time he had gotten to know Stiles, and he wasn’t prepared to lose him like this.


	11. “My dear nephew, it’s been so long since we’ve had a chat. We should meet up, I have so much to tell you.”

Derek just stood outside of the school. He watched Stiles run in. He heard the sniffles that came from him. Stiles hated him now. How could he not? Derek hated himself. His sister hated him. Peter… If Stiles talked to Peter, and he knew it from some online article. Then Peter had to be faking it at the hospital. Derek knew he had to go deal with him then. But he hesitated. He wanted to run into the school, and he wanted to talk to Stiles. He didn’t want to leave things like this. With Stiles heartbroken, finding out the person he was dating was a monster that was responsible for the death of his family. But Derek didn’t go inside. He walked away because Stiles said he never wanted to talk to him again.

So Derek got in his car and he drove to the hospital.

_

Stiles ran into the school, and he ran to the bathroom. When he got inside he ran to the locker room, he knew it would be empty. He walked back to the far wall, slid to the floor and sat there, letting it all settle in. Derek was a murderer, he killed his girlfriend Paige, and he killed his family in a fire. Stiles couldn’t believe that Derek had really done it. That he was able to tell Stiles like it was nothing. He didn’t even bother to lie. Like it didn’t matter that Stiles knew. Stiles guessed he was really wrong when it came to reading people.

He figured Peter for the liar and Derek for the honest one. Although, Derek didn’t lie. He told the truth, he did kill his girlfriend and his family. Why would Derek do that? How could he? Was he a serial killer? Did he plan on killing Stiles? No. There was no way. Why would Derek just let Stiles run back to the school if he was going to kill him?

Maybe he planned on doing it later.

What if it was Derek who broke into Stiles’ house those times? What if Derek was the one who gave Stiles the wolfsbane, and acted innocent to make it so that if Peter did approach him Stiles would assume it was him? What if Derek did it so that it would keep Peter away? Peter must have been allergic to wolfsbane too.

Derek probably orchestrated everything. He probably killed his sister, and they knew the police would find the other half of her body, so he probably got close to Stiles so he could get any information about the case from him.

The whole relationship could have just been a part of a plan. Derek probably never even cared about Stiles. He was just a pawn in his game, and now Stiles had no idea what was going to happen now. Maybe Derek would skip town and never come back. Stiles hoped that’s what will happen. Because all other scenarios aren’t looking good for him living past tenth grade.

Stiles fought tears, he wanted them to stop falling and he yelled in frustration. He cried because he couldn’t believe that this was Derek, that any of this could have really happened. He cried because he didn’t know what to do. Because he didn’t know what Derek was going to do.

The bell rang, and lunch was over. Stiles stood up from the ground and wiped he tears from his face viciously. He looked in the mirror washing his face with a splash of water so no one would be able to tell, then he began to walk toward the door. But his phone rang in his pocket.

He pulled it from his pocket and froze in confusion. It was a new contact; one he didn’t remember saving it.

Since when did Peter have a contact on his phone?

_

Derek drove to the hospital breaking most of if not all speed limits on the way there. But he was mad, pissed. Filled with rage. His claws were tearing at the steering wheel but he didn’t care, all he cared about was ripping out Peter’s throat. Not just because Peter was, in fact, the one who killed Laura, but because he told Stiles about Paige and the fire. He broke him and Stiles up and he wanted to know _why_.

He wanted to know what Peter’s plan was and he was going to figure out why. Once he got to the hospital he went straight to Peter’s room. Ready to kick some ass. But there was one problem with that plan. Peter wasn’t there. Derek punched the wall. Growling in anger. It was Peter this whole time, he had visited Peter the night he got back to Beacon Hills.

He always visited Peter when he was near Beacon Hills, or once a year on his birthday. For the last six years, Derek was holding this guilt for what he did, and he came back to apologize, to let Peter know he wasn’t forgotten, that he wasn’t alone.

And to think, Peter was faking it, and for how long? This was revenge but why didn’t he just kill Derek, why did he kill Laura? She had nothing to do with this. If it was to make Derek suffer, which was the most likely option, why go through the trouble of breaking Stiles and Derek up? Why not just kill Stiles? There had to be more to the plan, and no doubt it wasn’t going to be easy to figure out.

Peter is painfully smart, and he is evil. Now he’s an Alpha. Derek didn’t know if he was going to be able to kill Peter. Peter would hear Derek coming from a mile away. It was not going to be easy to deal with him.

_

“Hello?” Stiles asked as he answered his phone.

“So he told you, and you’re heartbroken. This wouldn’t have happened if you had been more open to believe me.” Peter said.

Stiles didn’t say anything back. He didn’t know what to say. He didn’t know how to feel. Peter had been telling the truth. Stiles should be thanking Peter for telling him. But Stiles didn’t want to do that. He didn’t want to talk about this.

“You know, I bet you’re probably blaming yourself right now. I bet you think that you’re a bad judge of character. That you probably still can’t see Derek as a killer. You shouldn’t feel bad. No one else saw it, not his parents, no his aunts, and his uncles. I wouldn’t have seen it if I didn’t catch him red-handed. Red-handed because of Paige’s blood of course.”

Stiles grimaced, at the mental picture of Derek’s hands covered in blood. He felt like he was going to be sick.

“Why are you calling me? How did you get my number?”

“Oh, I got it while you were unconscious. I figured it would be easier to contact you if I already had your number.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t think we should be in contact. I think you should go to the police and talk to them.”

“I can’t go to the police. I have no evidence. They won’t believe me. I’m just some guy who woke up from a coma. Derek will manipulate everyone into thinking he’s innocent.”

“Then why bother even telling me? They aren’t going to believe me. My dad doesn’t even think I know Derek. If I tell him I lied, then he’s got no reason to believe anything else I say. To everyone, I’m just a clumsy, hyperactive teenager.”  

“Stiles I didn’t come to you, for you to tell the police for me. If that was the case I could have told anyone. It a simple game of he said she said.”

“Then why me huh?”

“Because I have a plan. A way for us to get Derek to confess to the police himself.”

“What?”

“It’s not going to be easy but I need you for it. You’re the only one that can make this happen. But were on a time limit, now that Derek knows you know. You need to meet me right now.”

“Meet you where, and I’m in school I can’t just leave.”

“Like you have never skipped school before. Stiles this could make the difference if Derek goes to jail or being out and free to kill anyone else he wants.”

Stiles sighed, he didn’t want to do this. He didn’t want that on his shoulders. He just wanted to be normal. He wanted to go to school, get in a relationship, and be happy. He didn’t want to date a murderer, and then have his uncle ask him to help output him in jail. This shouldn’t be expected of him. He should be expected to get on his tests. He should be expected to stress out over college. Not murder. But this is probably Stiles’ fault. He always wanted a serial killer to come to beacon hills. Now he got one.

“Where do you want to meet?”

“Come to the woods, just beyond the lacrosse field.”

“You’re at the school?” Stiles asked confused.

“Yes, now hurry up before you get caught trying to ditch,” Peter said and then hung up. Stiles rolled his eyes and then put his phone in his pocket. He looked out of the lockeroom doors to see one or two students walking the halls probably skipping their fifth hour. So he slipped out, back straight, trying his best to look like a good student, that is not about to walk out of the building and not come back.

Once he gets to the field he takes a deep breath that he’s been holding because with his luck lately, he was sure to get caught. So he scanned the trees along the end of the field. Looking for signs of Peter, He didn’t see him at first. But when he scanned the tree line the second time he saw him, standing there.

He hesitated for a moment. Thinking if he really should go with Peter. What was this plan? Why did it involve Stiles so much? And why is it at such a time limit? Peter did tell Stiles the truth, but that doesn’t change he made Stiles crash his car. It didn’t mean that Peter wasn’t shady. It didn’t mean Stiles had to go with him into the woods by himself.

But Stiles was curious about this plan and other than standing in the middle of the road like a creeper, Peter hadn’t done anything to make Stiles not trust him, and to be honest, he wasn’t thinking all too clearly since Derek just confessed that he murdered Paige, and his family in a fire. So Stiles went across the field and into the woods with Peter.

_

Derek was thinking about Peters plan. Peter was either going to build a pack or he was doing this for revenge on Derek. Then there was the chance he was doing both. So Peter broke him and Stiles up, so what was next? Killing Derek? Normally Derek would think Killing was beneath Peter, but he killed Laura. But killing an alpha is the only way to get the alpha power.

So there was a chance killing Laura had nothing to do with Derek at all. Peter may have just wanted to be an Alpha. And then messing with Stiles, there was no reason for Peter to want to mess with Stiles other than to mess with Derek unless there was some reason Peter wanted Stiles broken up with Derek. So that brought Derek right back to where he started.

What is Peter’s next move?                            

_

“Wait… your plan is what?” Stiles asked because what Peter just said it was, was just stupid.

“You to act like I’ve kidnapped you, and will kill you unless he confesses.”

“That’s not going to work.”

“Why not?”

“Well let’s see. One, I know he has killed other people before, so you killing me would just get me out of the way. Two, he doesn’t care about me, I was just a part of his plan to keep track of the police investigation. Three, I can’t act like I’m kidnapped!”

“One, he would have killed you himself if that’s what he wanted. Two, he cares about you, he doesn’t need you to keep tabs on the police investigation, he can do that himself. Three, it’s easy, you just need to stay hidden for a couple of days so he really believes it, then I give you your phone and you call him, with a panicked and shaky voice and he’ll do anything I tell him to.”

“I can’t stay hidden for a couple of days, it will worry my dad.”

“If your dad isn’t worried how are we supposed to sell that you have been kidnapped?”

“We shouldn’t. Because it’s not going to work.”

“It will, all of my plans work. Now come on.” Peter said turning around and walking away.

“No, why don’t you come up with a different plan. A better one.”

Peter sighed and turned back to Stiles. He was irritated with Stiles’ unwillingness to follow his plan, but it didn’t matter, because Stiles was right there was a better plan. So Peter smiled walked over to Stiles. Stiles looked at him confused, but he was stood where he was.

Peter rested his hand on Stiles' shoulder, and Stiles looked at him like he was crazy.

“What are you doing?” Stiles asked.

“Coming up with a better plan.”

“Is it that touching my shoulder and looking deep into my eye’s until it comes to you?”

“No, you see this pressure that I’m putting on your shoulder? I am right on your pressure point, which means in a few seconds you are going to pass out.”

“What? Then get off-” Stiles said, but his vision began to blur, and suddenly he was passing out in Peter’s arms. Peter caught him with his left arm as Stiles’ legs gave out, and he lost consciousness Peter picked Stiles up and began to walk away Stiles in hand. 

“Stiles you are very special. My nephew thinks the same, but for a different reason. You see he never uses his brain. Just his heart, and his fist’s. But I see things, and I notice things. You are a rare find, and I intend to keep you all to myself.”

_

Derek’s next move was to find Peter, so he needed to find someone who knew where Peter was. If he had been up and walking out of the hospital all this time, someone had to know, someone had to see. Which meant someone was working with Peter.

Either Peter was paying them off or he was giving them something in return for keeping it a secret. So Derek took a deep breath to calm him and concentrated. He inhaled through his nose, taking in all the scents in the hospital, and sorting through them to find that one that was different. The one that was animal, a wolf.

There was one scent down the hall from the room. He looked, and he saw her, a nurse. The same one he has seen every time he came to the hospital to visit Peter. She was always quiet, she never spoke to him, but she was always by Peter’s room. It made Derek wonder just how long had Peter been faking it.

Derek was going to go down the hall and walk to her, but she began walking to him. He was ready for a fight by the time she got to him, but all she did was hold out a phone to him.

“What do you want me to do with this?” He asked suspiciously, looking at it. She smiled and held it close to his face.

“Talk to him.” She said, and Derek saw that a call was already in progress, so he took it and held it to his ear.

“Hello?”

“My dear nephew, it’s been so long since we’ve had a chat. We should meet up, I have so much to tell you.”


	12. But what would Peter want with Stiles?

 

Derek was entering the video store Peter told him to meet him at. It was strange to Derek at first that Peter would want to meet somewhere public. Meeting Derek at all seemed to be off, but almost everything with Peter was always off. Peter likes doing things in the dark where no one can see him, it’s easier to manipulate people that way, and Peter wasn’t Peter if he wasn’t manipulating someone. Derek didn’t know what to expect, for one the fact that Peter called him at all was a surprise. Everything he’s been doing was in secret, he didn’t want Derek to know it was him. Now that Derek knew, he expected Peter to try and kill him. If Peter was going to kill him he most certainly wasn’t going to do it where everyone can see it. Derek didn’t know who Peter was protecting in this situation, himself, or Derek. There was a chance that Peter really wanted to talk, but why? And what about?

Derek scanned the room and his eyes instantly landed on Peter who was in the back corner looking at the horror movie section. Derek walked straight over.

“Peter,” Derek said standing right behind him. He was preparing himself for anything. He was smelling the store looking for anyone else who Peter might have turned into werewolves and brought as a backup. But everyone else in the store was human. So at least he was safe on that front.

Peter turned around and looked at Derek with a smile, and it made Derek sick, just thinking about how Peter killed Laura and was still able to be so happy and smug.

“Derek. How have you been?” Asked Peter, who looked down to read the summary of the movie case in his hand.

“How have I been? That’s what you want to ask me? That’s what you called me here for?” Derek asked, disgust for Peter showing in his voice.

“Well, it is customary to ask that when you haven’t seen someone in a while,” Peter said, putting the movie back and grabbing a different one and reading the summary.

“I saw you yesterday, in the hospital, pretending to still be comatose,” Derek said, anger rising.

“Oh, did my charade hurt your feelings? Does it bother you that much? Because if it did, then you have gotten much softer in the last six years. Well, I don’t know if that’s true, because you were soft enough to fall in love with a hunter. The one that killed our family, and put me in that coma in the first place, you do remember that, don’t you?” Peter said looking into Derek’s eyes, innocently challenging him to get angry. Derek had to calm himself down before he shifted in front of everyone in this store and attacked Peter.

“I will never forget my part to play in the death of our family, I will never forgive myself. But will you forgive yourself for killing Laura?” Derek said, pointing out that he wasn’t the only one with family blood on his hands.

“That death is not on my conscience,” Peter said with a smile putting the movie down and giving Derek his undivided attention. “I gave her a choice. Life or death, and she chose death.” Peter added.

“What?” Derek asked confused.

“I have… a plan. I offered to include her, and she wanted no part in it. So I had no choice but to kill her. Being an alpha was a need, not a want.” Peter said simply as if telling Derek a math equation, not explaining his reasons for murdering his niece.

“So you didn’t kill her to get revenge on me?” Derek asked, still confused, and trying to learn Peter’s intentions.

“Oh please! I don’t things as petty as revenge. If someone has wronged me, I make them pay with their lives. Besides, I know that burden weighs on you every day, so letting you stir in your own guilt is punishment enough.” Peter said looking over Derek’s shoulder at a movie on the shelf behind him.

“So why give Stiles wolfsbane? Why put his shirt in the woods? Why tell him about me, Paige, and the fire?” Derek asks. Peter stopped looking at the movie and his face grew serious.

“Like I said before I have a plan, and you know me, I don’t like anything getting in the way of my plans. I’m going to cut right to the chase. I want you out of the way. Gone. I want you to leave Beacon Hills, Forever. I put the shirt in the woods because I wanted you to know I can get as close to him as I want to. I gave him wolfsbane, so you couldn’t touch him, and I told him about you, so he would hate you. And I have him, so I can make you leave town, and never come back.”

“What do you mean you have him?” Derek asked.

“Well as you know I have talked to him a few times, believe it or not, I think he trusts me. Well maybe it was just because his emotions were high because you were so honest about being a killer, but I got him to meet me in the woods, he is such a gullible boy, and now I have stored him somewhere.”

“You kidnapped Stiles?” Derek said, growling out his words, he could feel the warmth in his eyes that meant they were glowing. But he didn’t care about people in the store seeing them.

“Yep, and the best part is when he wakes up, he’s going to think I did it for the greater good. Putting you, the murderer, in jail where you belong.” Peter said, smiling like all of this was funny.

“I’m not going to jail for Laura’s murder,” Derek said, he refused to live his life in a cage, especially when it was for something he didn’t do.

“Gosh no, wouldn’t dream of it, you in a cage? You would lose your temper and kill everyone, and that’s no fun. You’re going to leave Beacon Hills, and the story will be you skipped town. Everything will be right in Beacon Hills, no one will even think to suspect me and I can go around doing my thing.” Peter said, reaching behind Derek grabbing a movie.

“What exactly is your plan?” Derek asked.

“… I wasn’t going to tell you, but honestly, I don’t think you will have a reason to stop it. Our pack, the Hale family pack, was one of the greatest, strongest packs ever known. We have been a pack, for hundreds of years, dozens of generations, and it's become a forgotten name, we were wiped out in one night. I want to rebuild the Hale pack, start anew, remake the legacy, hopefully, it will be even stronger than it was before. I offered Laura a part of the pack, but she didn’t want to be a part of it since I didn’t want to include you. Seeing as you were the reason we were so easily killed, it wouldn’t be wise to add you. I would have let her go, move on somewhere else, but I needed to be an alpha. I never planned to kill her, and don’t plan on killing you. As long as you do as you’re told, and leave Beacon Hills.” Peter said, keeping the movie in his hand and grabbing another one.

“This is why you chose a video store. You knew I would be angry, probably try and attack you. You wanted people to see us together, so if I get any ideas about attacking you later, if you kill me, you can tell the police I attacked you and you will be scot-free. You can’t do this if Laura’s murderer is still at large. You either want me convicted, or have everyone here sure it was me. Laura has been living here for years, you could have come to her at any time and offered this deal. You waited until I got back to make your move. I’m your plan B.”

“That is true, I could have killed her sooner, but I don’t leave anything to chance. Not even the part where I kick you out of town. You have three days to pack whatever you need, say your goodbyes, knock things off your bucket list whatever. On the fourth day, if you’re still here, I’m going to chop Stiles up into little pieces and send them to his father, one by one. I don’t do revenge, but I don’t like people getting in my way.”

_

Stiles woke up in a dark room on anew looking mattress. It even smelled new. It was fluffy and soft. But his attention was drawn to his arm. His left hand was handcuffed to a pole connected to the wall next to him. It was hard for him to tell where he was. The floor was concrete, the walls looked like brick maybe. There were poles all around the room, and there must have been a machine nearby because he could hear whirring. He figured he might have been in a basement of some sort, but he didn’t see any doors or staircases. There was more to the room that he couldn’t see but the wall opening was too far away for him to get an angle to look and see what was on the other side.

At first, he was worried because he didn’t remember how he got there, but he did remember meeting Peter in the woods. Peter said something about coming up with a better plan. But he didn’t say what that plan was. Looking around and thinking about the current situation he was in, Stiles realized it must have meant kidnapping him for real instead of pretending.

God, why was Peter so weird? He was creepy, Stiles got that. Some people are just creepy, but Peter, Peter was the type of guy that understood he was creepy and used it to his advantage. Plus he seemed really smart. Which Stiles was thinking wasn’t going to be good for him. Peter hasn’t shown that he wanted to hurt Stiles but he doesn’t know Peter enough to even pretend to know his true intentions.

He seemed to really not like Derek. Which is understandable, since Derek is a killer. He killed his family, he is the reason Peter was in a coma. He killed a girl named Paige. Stiles sat back and leaned against the wall.

He wondered if all killers were as nice as Derek seemed. If all of them could make you blush and be cute. He wondered if all killers had cute teeth and great smiles. He wondered if all killers came into your life and just threw everything off track. So much had happened, and such a short time.

Stiles had been to the hospital twice. He got drunk. He crashed his jeep. He missed seven days of school. He had his first kiss and his first date. For the first time, he owned dress shoes, which he didn’t even know were a thing. Stiles chuckled sadly as he thought about his first date. How he was so nervous before it, freaking out, thinking about how Derek might be a jerk or a serial killer. He was kind of right, Stiles didn’t know how many people you have to kill before you become a serial killer but killing your entire family except like three, is kind of close. He got such a wrong impression of Derek.

He would have picked Derek to be the guy who’s a mother hen. The type of person to worry about you, and text you good morning and goodnight texts. He would have picked this guy to be cool, but not like popular or owns a motorcycle cool, but easygoing, and fun to talk to. Derek was the first person to ever like Stiles, and it sucked things turned out like this, he kidnapped in some kind of basement, wallowing in how the one guy he liked that liked him back was a killer.

The worst part of Derek being a killer.  Was that Stiles just couldn’t see it. He couldn’t be scared or repulsed by Derek. Stiles doesn’t want to say it but he wished Derek would have lied. That he would have denied killing his family or ever even knowing a girl named Paige. Stiles would have believed him, and they would have been together and everything would have been fine.

Stiles knew that was a stupid thing to wish, Derek killed his own sister, who’s to say Derek wouldn’t have eventually killed Stiles. But Stiles didn’t feel like that would happen. Yes he was scared of Derek when he first met him, and yes he was freaked out before there date, but the Stiles went on the date and Derek was totally worried about him when he hit his head on the roof of his jeep, and for the rest of the date Derek was all nice and sweet. Afterward, he was mean and rude, that was when he found the body though, plus Derek apologized.

Stiles sighed, everything was too much, Derek was a killer, and he was going to have to go to jail, and Sties would never see him again probably. All of these emotions are signs that he grew way too attached to Derek.

_

Derek was running over to Stiles’ house he needed to look for him, to make sure Peter really has him. It’s late, and a weekday, so Stiles shouldn’t be anywhere else but home. When he gets there he climbs up Stiles’ window, and sees that Stiles isn’t there, he can tell he hasn’t been since this morning, meaning he didn’t come back from school.

Derek sat on Stiles’ bed and sighed. He didn’t need to come all the way over to know Stiles was actually kidnapped. Peter wasn’t one to bluff. But this doesn’t make sense. If Peter wanted to make a point and show Derek that he could reach Stiles at any time then why did he have the need to kidnap Stiles? He could have just threatened him, he didn’t need to take him and hid him somewhere. This was about something else. About Stiles. It had to be. Why else would Peter give him three whole days?

If he really wanted Derek out of the way, he would make him leave now. Peter knew Derek didn’t have many possessions beyond his car, he knew Derek didn’t need to gather items or say goodbye. Peter wanted Derek gone, but he didn’t need him gone immediately. This was about him keeping Stiles for three days.

But what would Peter want with Stiles? Derek’s heart skipped a beat when he realized what it might have been. Peter was making a pack, and the most likely to survive the bite are teenagers.

Was Peter going to turn Stiles into a werewolf?


	13. “How do you get a spark to trigger their power?”

Being kidnapped was not as scary, or attention-grabbing as Stiles thought it would be. But maybe that was just because he wasn’t kidnapped, you know? All of the fear in the kidnapping was in the unknown. The fear of what’s going to happen, if you are going to be saved or not. Why you were taken. Stiles didn’t have those fears because he knew who kidnapped him, and why.

It was Peter Hale, and because he wanted to get his serial killer nephew to turn himself in for murder.

That horrible plan is probably why Stiles was so bored he was about ready to fall asleep. But then again that could have been because it was late. He couldn’t tell time, there were no clocks, and there were no windows so he couldn’t use sunlight to guess the time.

He heard a door far away slide open, at least what he thought was a door, and then footsteps. Normally he would have probably been scared of an unidentified person was about to happen to him while he was defenseless and handcuffed. But right now he didn’t care because he had to pee so bad it hurt.

“Oh thank god. I thought you forgot where you locked me up. I have to pee, badly, and my hand has lost all circulation, you need to take this handcuff off me.” Stiles said shaking his arm for emphasis. Peter walked straight over and pulled a key out of his pocket and uncuffed Stiles. So he was way more than happy when he saw it was Peter who came.

“The bathroom is straight across the hallway,” Peter said, Stiles was a little confused at the information, he didn’t think the building he was in was big enough for a hallway, but sure enough when he got up there was a hallway, and many rooms, and doors. But straight across there was a bathroom.

After relieving himself, Stiles washed his hands and prepared to find his escape. He knew there were a lot of rooms, but he didn’t need to go in them, he just needed a way out. So he planned to run into anything that looked like an exit, or staircase or anything. But when he opened the door he found Peter standing right outside of it, almost like Peter had read Stiles’ mind and knew he was going to run right after using the bathroom.

“Stiles I would like to apologize for making you crash your jeep. I’m not sure I have apologized for it yet.” Peter said.

“You haven’t, and um… thanks, I guess.” Stiles said, not sure why the sudden apology came up, besides there were lots of more present things Peter could apologize for doing.

“I would also like to apologize for kidnapping you. I know it wasn’t a plan you liked but this is the only way I see myself bringing my nephew to justice. Just know you’re not in any real danger. I just need you to stay here until I can get him to turn himself in.” Peter said, almost reading Stiles’ mind again

“You expect me to stay down here in the cold, windowless, basement or whatever. Where even is this?” Stiles said, surprised that Peter even asked him. There was no way Stiles was about to agree to this. Living in some random basement for a few days while Peter chases a plan that won’t work.

“That doesn’t matter, and there are plenty of lights. A bathroom. I could bring you food whatever you want. And blankets, however many you wish. Think of it as a vacation.” Peter said with a smile, and Stiles couldn’t find a flaw in that, any food he wanted to be sounded pretty good.

“My grades are bad enough, missing school will just make them worse,” Stiles said, trying to find all the reasons this won’t work for him.

“Oh please, I think they will waive any missed assignments, from when you were kidnapped,” Peter said, and it was true, not even Mr. Harris could make him do assignments from when he was kidnapped. That was just an all-time low.

“I don’t want to do this to my father, I’m the only family he has left,” Stiles said, honestly. The words kind of hurt when they came out. Because it was true, and the same went for Stiles, his dad was his only family as well. Of course, Stiles had Scott. But it wasn’t the same, having a friend that’s like family, and having an actual family was a big difference.

“Stiles, Derek has killed his family, his girlfriend, and his sister, there are possibly many more I don’t know about. Stiles, I lost six years in that coma. While he was free to live his life, to kill, to manipulate, and hurt people. Partly because didn’t turn him in after that first murder. If I had stopped him then, my family would be alive. If I had done what was needed, Laura would be alive. So I’m begging you, to help me. To do this and allow me to do what I should have done a long time ago. Help me put my sick nephew in jail where he belongs.” Peter pleated.

Stiles didn’t have anything to say. He wasn’t good with this kind of pressure. Lives were at stake. Justice was on the line. Retribution. This has probably been eating at Peter, he lost his family, and he feels responsible. It was sad that Stiles line of thinking started to sway with that, he was thinking about how it couldn’t hurt to stay in a basement for a few days, and that it was the least Stiles could do to help peter out.

“Okay, I will stay. But on one condition.” Stiles said.

“What is it?”

“Unlimited curly fries.”

_

Peter smiled smugly as he left the school. He had Stiles locked in a sub-room of the vault in-between the school basement. Asking Stiles to stay was polite. Because there was no way in or out without claws. But his plan was going heavenly.

Guilt tripping Stiles was the right way to go. He is smart, but his judgment gets clouded with emotions. Good thing Stiles is a ticking time bomb of emotions. All Peter needed to do was manipulate them at the right moment, and Peter was a master at manipulation. Derek would soon leave, Stiles was wrapped around Peter’s finger, and soon Peter would be able to turn anyone in the town into a werewolf.

But right now he had to go meet someone that wasn’t so easy to manipulate, someone who has more knowledge than Peter himself. Someone who won’t even let him get past the gate.

“Deaton,” Peter said with a small smile still painted on his face, he was sure there as nothing that could ruin the good mood of a plan going according to plan.

“Peter, I didn’t know you were out and about,” Deaton said, stopping the stocking of shelves and giving Peter a good once over. “I see you healed nicely.”

“Nicely has nothing to do with it. But that’s a different story. I am here to talk about magic.”

“Magic?”

“Yes, Magic,” Peter said with a knowing grin. He could tell by the subtle raise of Deaton’s heart rate that he wasn’t expecting that. “I learned about magic recently. It’s such a fascinating thing, shame that not just anyone can do magic.”

“Druids can’t do magic if that’s what you are insinuating. I can’t be of any help to you or your plans.” Deaton said about to continue stocking, he knew better, Peter was always planning, always having something going on.

“Oh I already know druids can’t do magic, and I know I wouldn’t come to you for that anyway. I just want to ask you one question, and I promise to leave you out of all future plans. That sound fair?” Peter asked, knowing that any out of peters scheming was going to sound like a good plan to Deaton.

“What’s the question?” Deaton asked warily what question about magic could grant him immunity from peter’s plans from now on.

“How do you get a spark to trigger their power?”

_

Finding Stiles was the top priority for Derek, he couldn’t let Peter turn Stiles, he couldn’t let peter bite him, and that’s just if he hasn’t don’t it already. But where to look for Stiles was the problem. Peter always covered his tracks, and he was smart, he wouldn’t just store Stiles anywhere, it would be somewhere he knew was safe, and he could keep Stiles captive while he turned him into a werewolf. Somewhere no one would just happen to him by accident. But also somewhere Derek wouldn’t think to look or connect with Peter. Which honestly could have been anywhere. Derek hadn’t been in this town in years, he has forgotten lots of stuff, and he was sure the rest had changed.

But there was one lead that could help Derek find Stiles, the one weak link to Peter. The nurse he turned. She still worked at the hospital, and by now Derek had her scent memorized. He could find her anywhere, but thankfully, she was still on her shift and he knew exactly where she was.

Derek jumped out of Stiles’ bedroom window and ran to the hospital. He couldn’t drive because his car was still parked at the video store. When Derek got to the hospital he grabbed her by the arm and pulled her into an empty patient room.

“Where is Stiles?” Derek growled at her. But she just got this smug look on her face and smiled. Derek had no patience to do the back and forth where they argue and fight, so he just cut to the case by grabbing her by the throat and throwing her against a wall. It wiped the smile right off her face. “Tell me where he is,” Derek said, tightening his grip on her throat, with promises of pain if she didn’t tell him.

“I don’t know where he is.” She said, with a choked off a laugh.

“Liar!” Derek said.

“I’m not lying, do you really think that Peter is stupid enough to tell me and then leave me right where anyone can find me and torture me for information?” she said. Her heart rate didn’t show any signs of her lying. She really didn’t know. It was kind of a longshot anyway. Derek should have known that Peter wasn’t going to tell her anything. Peter doesn’t trust people. He thinks they are unreliable unless they are being manipulated.

Derek let go of her, he was wasting his time. She didn’t know anything important, anything that could lead him to Stiles. Peter was too good at this. He knew how to cover his scent, he didn’t tell the girl anything, and Stiles was in the wind.

There had to be another way to find Stiles, and Derek was going to find it.

\--

Stiles was sitting on the mattress thinking about how stupid he is: Very. You don’t just let yourself be kidnapped. Or stay in some unknown basement either for that matter. Maybe crazy runs in their family, maybe Peter has killed twenty people. He did after all give Stiles wolfsbane, whatever that was, which caused him to overdose. He could have died if he had been home alone.

His father would have come home that night to his dead body. The last living member that he has. Stiles didn’t know why he let Peter talk him into staying. This isn’t his fight. Yes, he went on a date with Derek, but Derek was a killer, a murderer. Their relationship was very much over. Derek probably never cared about Stiles, it was probably just a game to him.

Where Peter got the assumption that kidnapping Stiles would cause Derek to do anything he didn’t want to do, Stiles didn’t know, but he did hope these couple of days would pass by pretty fast. Because he would go crazy without his phone and his laptop.

What did Peter expect him to do exactly anyway? Just sit around? No way, Peter could have at least given him a T.V or something to help pass the time. Stiles was just going to have to ask him for one whenever he got back.

Stiles wondered why this even required a couple of days. All they needed was a good few hours. Peter would tell Derek that he kidnapped Stiles and if by some crazy world, Derek actually cared about Stiles, and then he would go to the police station and turn himself in. They would have his confession taped and in writing in thirty minutes, then he would be processed and put into jail. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.

So, what was Peter doing that was going to make this last any longer than it needed? Maybe he didn’t know how long it took to process someone and thought that it would take some days. He would have to bring it up the next time Peter came back. Maybe this was going to be a lot shorter than he thought it was.


	14. Aside from the possibilities, Peter decided he wanted a spark, so he was going to get one.

Standing behind the counter, completely safe, Deaton hesitated. He hadn’t thought or heard about sparks in a while, years, and the biggest surprise was it coming from Peter Hale. Comatose, for the last six years Peter Hale. But then again everything coming from Peter Hale was a surprise. Sparks are very rare and almost unheard of to anyone except druids and sparks themselves. It’s almost impossible to find a spark before they have come into their abilities. It’s never happened before. So, the fact that Peter was asking how to trigger a spark meant something serious was going on.

“To trigger a spark you say?” Deaton asked, not wanting to answer the question, but wanting to get more information out of Peter. This wasn’t a normal everyday question, and Deaton was interested in where it headed. Even if it led to Peter and his plans.

“Yes, it’s a simple question, that involves a simple answer,” Peter said with a smile, not allowing himself to be thrown off track, he was having a good day, and he wasn’t going to let Deaton throw him off. He came for an answer and he wanted it.

Deaton licked his lips, thinking carefully about his next sentence.

“I don’t know. Triggering sparks never was on the list of things to do. It just doesn’t happen. You don’t know a spark until they’ve come into power themselves.” Deaton said, deciding to go with honesty. But Peter just rolled his eyes.

“Oh, don’t give me that. I know you druids. If anything has ever been thought of or tried to have been done, you have it. Whether it is in your brain, or in one of the thousands of books I know you own.” Peter said, smile fading from the corners of his mouth, turning into a grimace of irritation.

“This is what I know about sparks. They are rare, very rare. Many go their entire lives not even knowing they’re a spark. And they are nearly impossible to find before they realize it themselves. So, triggering them isn’t exactly a study considering there hasn’t ever been one found before they came into themselves.”

“Don’t hold back on me, or give me a history lesson, I already know all about sparks, I just need you to tell me, how they are triggered.”

“I don’t know. Honestly.” Deaton said, still wondering how Peter got his information about Sparks.

Peter sighed, his good mood now completely gone.

“Fine, I will come back tomorrow, hopefully then you will have some answers for me. And that’s for your sake, not mine.” Peter said, storming out of the clinic, and heading to the nearest diner to get curly fries that he promised Stiles.

_

Peter had a plan, there was no doubt about that, Peter always had a plan, and they were good plans. Stiles was a part of that plan. Peter was going to add him to the pack. And for some reason, Peter needed three days. Where would Peter feel safe keeping Stile for a total of three days or more than covered his scent?

Derek stopped that line of thought because he had been down this road before, Peter wasn’t stupid enough to put Stiles somewhere he could easily find him. But Derek started thinking back on Peter’s plan. He wants Derek to take the fall, to be the permanent suspect so he could get off free. Peter didn’t want to be a criminal in this town. So what was he doing to keep himself from catching a kidnapping charge? Then it hit him, there must be a plan installed, something that kept the Sheriff from looking at Sites or thinking he was kidnapped. Stiles is the Sheriffs son, it’s not like he wasn’t going to notice that Stiles missing for three days, and then turning up all of a sudden afterward.

Derek needed to find out what exactly was the Sheriff doing right now. Maybe Peter was keeping him busy with something. Maybe the Sheriff was leaving the town or something. Anyway, Derek needed to find out what it was because it was the next step to finding Stiles.

Derek got into the car and drove to the Sheriff’s station. Where the Sheriff was currently working.

It wasn’t the best idea. Everyone in the station eyed him for the murder of his sister, and it wasn’t like he could just ask the sheriff if he knew where Stiles was. He didn’t know how the sheriff would take Stiles dating a suspect for murder. Or that the said Suspect is asking about where he is, possibly alerting him to the fact that Stiles is missing. And that would not look good on Derek’s part at all.

This had to be covert. He needed to find out what the Sheriff knew. So, he parked his Camaro behind the station and listened. He listened to the chatter and the talking of the police officers. People getting calls, giving complaints. Mundane stuff. Derek thought being a police officer were more like the movies. Officers always busy, working on a big case, that would make or break their career. Fast-paced work, never being bored.

But it was nothing like that. Honestly, if he didn’t know for a fact he was sitting outside of the station, he would think he was outside of some office building. With normal people working nine to five. Not officers of the law who were tasked with catching criminals, and protecting the town.

Derek listened for hours. He listened to people constantly re-brewing coffee, taking calls filling reports. Derek got bored, almost hoping something bad would happen just to liven it up. It was kind of bad to think about, but he was starting to get bored.

But he got lucky because John went to the bathroom, and he didn’t hear him pick his cell phone off his desk. Derek saw the chance and he took it.

He snuck into the room through the back window. Which was honestly way harder than he thought it was going to be. He misjudged the size of the window and how painful it would be to squeeze through. But once he was in, he went straight to the phone which was on the desk.

Where he hit his next unforeseen problem. Passcode. He didn’t even think about the sheriff having a passcode, which is stupid considering that he is the sheriff, and he probably needs to keep some stuff, under lock and key, mainly from Stiles if he is a trouble maker like Derek thinks he might be.

Derek wanted to at least try a few codes. He needed three before it would lock him out, so he was going to have to guess carefully. He thought maybe a birthday year, but he didn’t know what year the sheriff was born. So, he guessed Stiles’ after doing some math in his head.

Derek thought about it. Debating which year Stiles was born in. Because Stiles didn’t say anything about his birthday coming up soon, or its passing recently. But then again birthdays didn’t really come up in any up. He didn’t have a lot of time, the sheriff could come back from the bathroom any second, and it wasn’t going to be exactly easy getting out of that window in a rush.

His first guess didn’t work as the passcode, and Derek wasn’t sure he wanted to waste his time with the birthday year. He didn’t think that the Sheriff would use his own birth year. Then an idea popped into his head. His passcode was his address, just the first for numbers of it.

It took Derek a second to remember Stiles’ address typed it into the phone, and luck, it was the passcode. Derek didn’t waste any time scrolling through the phone, looking for some kind of answer. He didn’t know where to look, or why he even decided to take the phone.

He looked through anything and everything until he got to the messages. Stiles sent the Sheriff a message not ten minutes ago. Which couldn’t have really been sent by Stiles, if he was really in Peter’s captivity?

From Stiles: Hey dad. Staying at Scotts one more night.

Derek really believes that that was the excuse. Staying over at Scott’s house. There were too many holes in that plan. The Sheriff could go to Scott’s house and find that Stiles’ isn’t there. Or Scott could call the Sheriff looking for Stiles.

But then again, Peter probably has an alibi for Stiles, with Scott as well. Maybe even telling him to cover for Stiles, for some reason.

Derek was about to try and crawl back in and put the phone where he found it. But the wind picked up, and he caught a scent. Well, a tiny whiff of it. But there was no doubt it was Peter’s scent. Leaving the phone and his car behind, Derek ran in the direction of the scent of Peter.

It got a bit stronger with every step or so. Which was unusual for Peter, he always covered his scent. Derek stopped walking and hesitated. Maybe this was a trick, Maybe Peter was purposely leading Derek somewhere. 

The scent was headed to the business area of town, where basically everything was located, the post office, the phone and electronic stores, the animal clinic, the hospital. Derek didn’t know where or what type of trap Peter could have set up for him. But he kept an eye out and followed the trail of scent.

It led to the animal clinic. Which was suspicious. What would Peter do in an animal clinic? What would he want from here? It’s not like he had any pets. Maybe he went here to throw Derek off his scent. But then again, Derek didn’t have even an idea of where Peter was, so why would Peter be going out of his way to make his scent known, just to throw him off.

Derek walking into the clinic prepared for anything, on guard, senses open and analyzing anything, anything except seeing a vaguely familiar face.

As Derek walked in, the little bell above the door shook causing it to ring. Out from a back room came out the man. Peter’s scent was all over the room. It was strong. He could smell irritation, laced around his scent.

The man behind the counter, the one that looked familiar, Derek would have sworn he had seen him before but he didn’t know where.

“Derek.” The guy said, confirming Derek’s suspicions that they knew each other before. 

“You know me?” Derek asked.

“Well, I knew you. It’s been a while.”

“You have me at an unfair advantage, you remember me but I don’t remember you.”

“I knew your mother. I worked closely with her. I first met you when you were just a small child.” Deaton said. Derek clued into the unspoken things, like what exactly he worked on.

Derek sniffed around the room. Deaton clearly wasn’t a werewolf. So there was one other option.

“You’re a druid.” It wasn’t a question, because there was no way a human ‘worked’ with Derek’s mother.

“I am,” Deaton said, confirming it.

“Peter’s smell is all over this clinic. Where is he?”

“Oh, so you are aware he is awake from his coma? That makes this conversation a lot easier.”

“Where is he, that’s all this conversation needs to be.”

“I don’t know where he is.”

“He was here!” Derek yelled, eyes flashing. He was too angry, to desperate to find Stiles to deal with lies or any more detours.

“He was here… earlier. But when he walked in was the first time I heard he had awakened from his coma. I don’t know where he is, but I do think I know what he is doing. Do you know what he is up to?” Deaton asked.

Derek rolled his eyes. He didn’t know Deaton very well, nor did he remember him. But he had at least a baseline for trust if he worked with his mother. So he calmed down and listened to Deaton’s heartbeat, it wasn’t racing, so there was a chance he wasn’t lying. But people who work with werewolves tend to get better at lying.

“He’s- He is trying to make a pack. Bigger and better than the last hale pack.”

Deaton took a moment to absorb that information and tried to think about what that meant and why he said he would promise to exclude him from his plans… wait.

“That’s why he doesn’t want a druid…” Deaton said.

“What?”

“Peter came here for information, about Sparks. Do you know what Sparks is?”

“Um, if we aren’t talking about sparks from the fire, then no.”

“Sparks are humans with abilities, with something extra. They are humans born with a special connection to the earth. They are like in tune with it, almost on a special wavelength. They can do almost anything if they think about it hard enough. Or if they can believe hard enough.”

“And Peter wanted to know about them why?”

“Peter came in here asking me how to trigger a spark. You see, sparks are very rare, and often they don’t even realize they have these abilities. A spark needs a moment, an emotion that triggers their abilities. It has to be something extreme and special to that very person. It varies for every person.”

“And you told Peter this?”

“No. I didn’t know most of this until he left. I looked through some very old books. But if you are looking for Peter I could help you, maybe we could help each other. He said he would come back here tomorrow.”

Derek was happy to know that he would know where Peter is going to be. But he wants to know where Peter is. He wants to know where stiles are. For every second Stiles is with Peter or in his grasp, is another second for him to be manipulated, or turned. Derek could care less about Sparks.

“’Help each other’? What do you need help with?”

“Somehow Peter knew about Sparks, which is rare. Hardly anyone knows about them except sparks themselves and some few druids. But Peter knew about them, and I fear he has one in his grasp. At least a potential spark. I don’t know how he knows whoever he has is a spark if they don’t already have their abilities. As far as I can tell they are impossible to identify. But some poor soul has been captured by Peter and he is trying to trigger them.”

“I don’t know how you want me to help you with this person. I am already having enough of a hard time finding Sti-” Derek stopped talking because he realized that the person Deaton wants to help, and the person he is trying to save very well maybe the same person.

Peter went out of his way to get Stiles. To get him away from Derek and into his grasp. And Derek already knows it wasn’t just to get him to leave beacon hills. He wanted Stiles for something. Derek thought it was to turn him into a werewolf. But what if Peter thinks’s Stiles is this Spark or whatever? It would explain needing to make Stiles hate Derek, and taking time. One day was already gone, and Derek didn’t want to waste another. And it might be a good thing if Peter isn’t trying to turn Stiles into a werewolf. But he still has to worry about the manipulation.

_

Peter went back to the vault, and into the room, to where Stiles was waiting for him. He had just got curly fries and a soda. He was irritated. There was no way Deaton didn’t know of a way to trigger a spark. Druids knew everything. That was kind of their slogan.

But Deaton was just stalling. Deaton knew the type of person he was. Peter assumed that mean he was going to make sure to stay out of his way, but apparently, he decided that he was going to be directly in the way, and keep things from him. The only reason he gave Deaton a second chance was because he was in such a good mood from before.

Peter was sure that it was some sort of emotional response. It always is, in these sorts of situations. So Peter was going to have to trigger some emotional responses. But these probably have to be some strong, and powerful emotional responses, epically if there is a chance sparks might never trigger their power.

But what emotion to start with was Peters current dilemma.

He walked into the vault, where Stiles had fallen asleep, in an uncomfortable looking position. He was snoring an mumbling every couple of seconds or so. Peter almost didn’t want to wake him. But he needed to see and find out which emotional trigger would be best to start with.

“Stiles…” Peter said as he nudged Stiles, trying to wake him. Stiles didn’t pause snoring in the slightest. Peter rolled his eyes. “Stiles.” He said again, nudging him even harder. But Stiles still didn’t wake.

Peter sighed, setting down the food in front of the mattress. Just one whiff of it in his nose and he was wide awake.

“Food!” Stiles said, instantly sitting up, grabbing the bag of curly fries, and instantly consuming them.  “mm frank froo” Stiles said through several fries in his mouth.

“You’re welcome,” Peter said, grimacing at the food that fell out of Stiles’ mouth. “If you keep eating that fast you might choke to death,” Peter warned.

“No, I fwont!” Stiles said, knowing full well, he could choke, but he was basically starving and he wasn’t about to slow down anytime soon.

Peter watched Stiles gobble down the rest of his food. Watching, analyzing, and thinking. He learned about sparks. About what they could do.

Just by wanting, and the force of t their sheer willpower. They could do extraordinary things. Having a druid in your pack, was good, but having a spark, was unimaginable. It would cause great possibilities for his pack. Aside from the possibilities, Peter decided he wanted a spark, so he was going to get one.

_

Stiles had a lot of time to think. That’s all you can do in a basement with no entertainment. Even now with Peter sitting right here in front of him, judging the way he eats his curly fries. Stiles still had time to think.

He thought about how there should have been more signs. Signs that Derek was a killer. Because honestly, he wasn’t finding any. Not one. He had been nice, and as far as stiles could tell honestly.  He had even been protective. He had seemed so…. Stiles didn’t know how to word it. It was like he was normal but he wasn’t. Derek was this mystery. But the good kind. There was suspense, but only in the name.

Stiles was nervous and shy, but he was never actually afraid of Derek. Or at least the Derek he knew. He was scared of the man he didn’t know. The man Scott told him not to text. The man he saw sitting in his car in the parking lot of the liquor store. But not the Derek he met at the diner for their date. Not the Derek that worried about his head when he hit it on the jeep. Not the Derek that begged for forgiveness inside the grocery store.

Because of that, Stiles goes through everything he’s been told. Everything he thought. Everything he looked up. He went through everything Derek did in Stiles’ presence.

If there is anything Stiles knows for sure, it is that Derek’s family did die in a suspected arson and that Laura was murdered. Everything else was ifs and maybe’s. Reasons were scattered. Even how Derek just said yes, just agreed that he killed his family and that girl Paige. It just didn’t make sense. Why did Peter need to ‘pretend’ which was looking more like really kidnap Stiles to get him to confess if he was so forthcoming about it with Stiles?

None of it made sense. Peters description of Derek and the Derek Stiles has actually met and seen in person, seemed like two completely different people.

“Why did Derek kill your family?” Stiles asked, putting down the bag, all curly fries gone now.

“What?” Peter asked off guard, and unprepared for the question. He looked like he was lost in thought before Stiles’ question pulled him out of it.

“Why did he kill your family?” Stiles asked again. Peter was quiet for a moment collecting his thoughts.

“I’m not sure. Maybe he just did it because he wanted to. Maybe he’s sick in the head, and he hears voices.” Peter said shrugging his shoulders.

“So you’re telling me you don’t know his motive? How do you know he did it? When not even the police were sure it was arson?” Stiles asked, slightly hopeful that maybe Peter was wrong.

“Because I know my nephew,” Peter said simply as if he solved two plus two.

“You know him, but you don’t know his reason for almost killing his entire family?” Stiles asked, a little irritated at Peter’s simplification.

Peter had no evidence that Derek did anything. Which is why he needs Derek to confess. Which is the only way that Derek would ever be put in jail? Which didn’t really make sense, or fit Peter’s character considering all the illegal things he did, and is currently doing.

If Peter is okay with bending the law. Like forcing Derek to confess to murder and arson. Like making Stiles drive off the road, then carry him across town to a parking garage. Then there is the possibility that Peter is the one who gave Stiles the wolfsbane, which could have killed him, and fake kidnapping, Stiles. Which really technically is still kidnapping. If Peter is okay with all of that, then it shouldn’t be that big of a step to want to take matters into his own hands and hurt Derek himself.

Like honestly. If someone killed Stiles’ father, and he knew who it was and where they were, Stiles would probably get his bat and beat them to death. And Stiles isn’t a violent person. It’s just when someone hurts you that bad when they hurt your family, you do the extreme. Whether it’s right or wrong, you act out, whether it’s in anger, sadness, or even rage, and honestly, Peter seemed like the violent type.

Stiles remembered when he first met Peter, how he was lurking around in the dark in the middle of the night. That first impression had Stiles not trusting him. Then Peter makes him crash his car. And while Stiles is still hurt and bleeding, he carries him to a parking lot. All of their meetings have been done in secret and in the dark. Rather than his meeting with Derek. They met in public, only once or twice did they meet in private. He texted Stiles and took him on a date, things that normal people do.  Stiles was a little scared to Derek at first but that’s because what person in their right mind would want to be with a 145-pound sack of sarcasm.

But even in all of the fear and doubt, Stiles always had a little voice in his head telling him that he wanted to trust Derek. Even right now he still wished that Derek was the one he was talking to right now. Stiles thought about the moment he started believing Peter over Derek. And that was the moment Derek said that, yes, he was responsible for his family’s death, and yes, he killed Paige. Which honestly doesn’t make sense.

Someone who worked so hard to keep those deaths hidden, and it actually worked wouldn’t just give themselves up to some teenager, who talks a mile a minute. It’s just not something you do. There had to be more to it. There had to be a different side to the story than Peter’s. And the only way Stiles is going to get it is if he talks to Derek. And that needs to be before Peter blackmails him into going to jail. 

Peter knew this would happen eventually. The questions about the holes in his story. He really should have thought them out better. He was banking on Stiles being too heartbroken to question everything. But apparently, he still wants to hold onto his faith in Derek, and there is nothing he can do about that but try and diminish any hope he has that Derek is innocent.

But that will honestly take care of itself when Derek skips town. It would be like he as sighing his own confession. Which is not something Peter wants. If Derek confesses it will give Stiles some hope that Derek is a good guy, and he will hold onto those pesky feelings, and then Stiles will never truly be a part of the pack.

That’s the problem with sparks and Druids. They’re human, they don’t have that bite connection. That sense of loyalty and pack. You have to make them want to stay, and you have to keep it up. Keep them happy, give them those undeniable reasons to stay. As long as Derek is in the picture then Stiles will never want to be in a pack without him.

“Stiles I don’t know his motive for a fact. I didn’t see him light the fire himself. But I know he did it. I feel it in my bones. I know that I was in that house, that I was the only one who knew his secret about Paige. That our family were the only people I would have opened up to, that as soon as he comes back to Beacon Hills, his sister, my niece, is dead. Murdered. Buried where he lives.” Peter said. Sitting on the mattress next to Stiles, giving his most sincere voice he could muster. “You just have to trust me, and know that I am right about him.”

But that was Stiles’ problem. He didn’t trust Peter. His father taught him better than to trust blindly, and he had been stupid to do that to this point. To let himself be locked in this basement, probably making his father sick with worry, and Scott too.

He was about to help Peter make a man commit to a crime based solely on what the man has told him.

“I just don’t get it. Why would Derek just admit to it, when you say he supposedly killed his whole family to keep that secret? Why would you need to kidnap me to get him to confess to the police? Why is it taking so long? It shouldn’t take more than a few hours a day at most. But it’s already been a day, and the second one is almost over, at least I think it is. It’s hard to tell in a basement with no windows.”

“Well having windows defeat’s the point, don’t you think.”

“That’s also the problem. My dad is probably worried, my friends too. I can’t do this. I want to go home.”

“Stiles, your dad isn’t worried. I sent him a message from your phone telling him you are staying at Scott's house, and I sent one to Scott telling him you had a cold and wouldn’t be able to hang out or go to school for a couple of days.”

“Well, aside from that, I don’t want to do this. I don’t want to stay in a cold basement, with no windows all by myself. It’s scary down here, and I don’t agree with this plan.”

“Stiles, it’s almost over, I promise. Just tough it out, and you’re done.”

“Why is it taking so long!? What’s the issue? Can you not find Derek? Does he not care and you just don’t want to admit your plan didn’t work? I don’t want to do this, this is actual kidnapping and you could go to jail if you don’t let me go right now!” Stiles yelled standing up, anger and fear all wrapped together in a knot in his stomach and throat.

Peter decided that was the last straw. First Deaton not giving him the information that he wanted, and now Stiles deciding he had a brain and apparently a backbone. There is a method easier than manipulation that Peter likes to use when it looks like all else is starting to fail. Fear.

Peter shifted, red eyes, fangs, claws, everything. Stiles was frozen in shock as Peter stood up growling. When his senses came back he tried to run, the problem with being locked in a basement the only place to run in was the walls. Not that a different area would have let Stiles escape. Peter was way too fast for that.

He grabbed Stiles by the neck and pinned him against the wall.

“See now look at what you made me do. Why couldn’t you just sit there and be a nice little boy, hmm?”


	15. He decided to go home.  By himself.

“What is it, Derek?” Deaton asked Derek because he suddenly stopped his sentence.

“I think Peter believes that Stiles is the spark. Stiles is the only person I know he has, and he went out of his way to get him.”

“Stiles… as in Stilinski?”

“Yeah, you know him?”

“His best friend Scott McCall works here, Stiles hangs out here for late shifts with him sometimes. So what Peter has him, as in kidnapped? Since when?”

“Yesterday, during school. Stiles asked me something and, I answered it, but not fully and, I hurt him, and then Peter took him.”

Deaton looked down and sighed. “That is the Sheriffs son, which can complicate this entire situation.”

“Yeah, I know…” Derek said thinking, the Sheriff was eventually going to notice his son was missing, the staying at Scott's house excuse wasn’t going to last much longer, but then again Peter must have a plan for that, he did only intend for this to last for three days. Derek doubts that anything good will happen if Peter doesn’t get his way, and sadly Stiles may be the one to suffer Peter’s sour mood because of it.

“If Peter has him, then he is not going to come out of this situation the same,” Deaton said, referring to Peters methods of manipulation.

“I know that too. Why don’t you tell me something helpful?” Derek bit out in frustration, all he wanted to do at this very moment was get Stiles back, but he felt helpless, and he hated feeling helpless.

“Well, I can’t really except that he is coming back tomorrow.”

“Fine. Then I will be here tomorrow.” Derek said and then stormed out of the building headed for his car. He needed to come up with some sort of plan by tomorrow.

_

Stiles fell to the ground and quickly crawled away to the nearest corner when Peter let him go. His neck burned with pain from the tightness that Peter held him. It was probably going to bruise, but Stiles couldn’t bring himself to care. Right now, his only worry was getting away from Peter. Because he was some kind of monster.

The kind you see people dressed up as on Halloween or the CGI created ones made for movies. Peter was strong. He had lifted Stiles up by the neck with one hand. Stiles may be underweight for his height and age, but he doesn’t think he knows anyone who can lift one-hundred-forty-five pounds, from that angle with one hand.

Peter’s eyes went back to their normal blue, and his fangs and claws seemed to retract like they were never there. Stiles would think that maybe he was hallucinating if he still didn’t remember the feeling of claws on his neck. He was breathing hard and trying his best to make it through or become one with the wall behind him.

Peter looked at him, a look of pity. “Well, that wasn’t part of the plan, but you see I’m not a fan of things not going my way. I really am a nice guy if people didn’t try my patience so often.”  Peter shook his head and sighed, taking a step towards Stiles.

“Wha- what a-are y-you?” Stiles asked, voice shaking, and scratchy. He almost didn’t have the strength to ask the question, it sort of slipped out because he was thinking it over and over again in his head.

“I knew we would have this conversation sooner or later.  It was just your mental state that I thought would be different. I’m not sure you could take it just yet. You look so fragile, one more thing and you could snap.”

“bu-“

“bup bup bup,” Peter said shutting Stiles up. “No talking for a little huh? Just listen. You have a lot of questions, valid questions, but none of them matter. Because I’m not scared of a kidnapping charge, because I’m not going to get one. You see I awoke from my coma to find that Beacon hills were much different than it was before I went in, and I intend to change things back. But first, I need to get rid of some problems. The first problem, I barely have power… strength and you know what they say, strength in numbers. So I intend to get some people to my side, to show them the great cause and have them help… and you are the first one I want to recruit.” Peter said with a smile as if he were running for sheriff or governor. “Second Problem… is enemies, they will try to stop me.”

“Derek…” Stiles said, realizing he was right, no way was Peter telling the truth. He did a silent prayer because he was so grateful.

“Oh, don’t get your hopes up. Derek did kill Paige, and he is responsible for the fire that caused the death of our family. I didn’t lie about that. But I guess I can tell you the whole story now. I’m sure you have found the inconsistencies. Here I will even tell you what I am.” Peter said, kneeling in front of Stiles, Stiles pushed into the wall more, trying to mold himself into it.  “I’m a werewolf,” Peter said simply.

Stiles looked him in the eyes, because of no way. Because really? Werewolves existed? Out of all the things? He would have preferred vampires… but who is to say they aren’t real if Werewolves are real? Okay back on track! Stiles was surprised his mind could still wonder with the state of fear he was in. Maybe it really was a defense mechanism.

“Derek is also a werewolf,” Peter added on with a smirk. Because whatever bad thoughts Stiles could come up for werewolves he would have to tack onto Derek, which would cause the pit of self-doubt and confusion that he needed Stiles to enter once again for things to go back on track.

That made Stiles’ heart stutter. Derek was a Werewolf…. No. Just no. Derek couldn’t be a werewolf. He just couldn’t. Peter must have seen Stiles’ denial because this is what he said next.

“He is. It runs in the family.”

Stiles didn’t want to believe it. Derek was a werewolf, like Peter.

“Now that you know that, I can tell you everything. Derek killed Paige, by snapping her neck. With his bare hands.”

A cold shiver went up against his back. Knowing how it happened somehow made it worse. Or real Stiles guessed, he had a picture of it in his head, Derek looking like Peter just did, hands around some poor girl’s neck and then the sound of a snap, like a twig being stepped on, and then death. Stiles didn’t want to picture that, Stiles didn’t want to know that, he didn’t want to know this. He didn’t want anything. He wanted to go home and think.

“Why me?” Stiles asked, which was a question more to himself than anything else. Like why did Derek choose to talk to Stiles, why did he get dragged into this drama, why did he have to get the alcohol with Lydia.  But Peter decided to answer anyway.

“Because look at you Stiles.” Peter started. “You have been pushed away, overlooked, underestimated. People look through you, they forget your name, they ignore you. But you are so much more than a forgotten name, you are so much more than the guy people confuse for someone else.” Peter had read Stiles like a book the first time he saw him. A hyperactive kid. Without a mother, anxiety issues, and only one good friend. It is classic after you get all of those facts. Stiles must have self-worth issues. He must get overlooked by others a lot because of how goofy and talkative he is. Probably never had a relationship or sexual relations of any kind, making him seriously inexperienced, and therefore easily manipulated with the right tactics.

“Oh, then what am I?” Stiles asks not buying into whatever Peter is selling.

“You are someone with a future. You are someone with promise. I want you to be on the front lines of a new Beacon Hills with me.”

 “… What front lines?... What does this new Beacon Hills look like?”

“Werewolves are being hunted here, they always have been, but it used to be the hunters that had to stay in hiding. Now Beacon Hills is without a pack, and I have decided to recreate that pack. And I want you in it.”

“Wait… you’re not going to make me a… werewolf, are you?” Stiles asked freaking out.

“No, no, no. You are something very special Stiles, far too great for me to go around changing you. You’re a one in a million chance find. If only Derek knew how special you are.”

“What is so special about me?”

“You are capable of so much. All I have to do is figure out how to bring it to the surface, and that is the reason I have kept you down here. I have been trying to keep you safe from Derek, and trying to find a way for you to begin to access your abilities.”

“Okay…. Um, I don’t have any abilities… I grew out of my wanna be a superhero phase by the time I was eight. I think you have the wrong person, you should let me go because I will be so grateful that you did I won’t tell my dad that I was kidnapped.”

“It’s okay, I knew you were going to be skeptical, that’s why I had to take you first. I hoped that I didn’t have to tell you until I could prove it, but unfortunately my patience ran thin.

_

The next morning Derek had to hold himself back from going to the clinic. He needed to wait somewhere nearby but he couldn’t let his scent be there, or Peter might not go in. He needed Peter occupied so he could follow his scent back to wherever he came from, and hopefully, that would give him a clue to where Stiles was. Because he was already running out of time. He needed to think quickly. Peter Isn’t expecting Derek to know that he’s going to the clinic, Derek hadn’t talked to Deaton in years so it wasn’t like Deaton would call Derek and tell him what he’s been up to. Then there is the fact that Deaton isn’t a werewolf and he wouldn’t be able to follow Peter’s scent.

All reasons why Peter might not feel the need to cover his scent. But there is the fact that Peter is suspicious by nature, which still left this plan a long shot. None of the other factors included, like the fact that Stiles might not be wherever Peter had come from, or Deaton might not be able to keep Peter busy and he might not have enough time to get Stiles out of wherever he is. So many things could go wrong, but this was Derek’s only plan, and to hell, if he wasn’t going to go through with it.

He waited across the plaza of the animal shelter, it was far away enough and public enough that Derek wouldn’t be found unless Peter did some serious digging.

Derek waited there for several hours, he looked at the animal clinic through a window for several hours. After a while, he began to doubt that Peter was coming at all. But he had to remind himself, Peter needed information to get what he wanted, and with that, he would show. Given time, so he waited patiently.

Just as the sun was about to set, and Derek had been there all day. Peter showed up. Of course, he waited this long. People would have been gone, and it ensured his privacy. Once Peter went into the Clinic, Derek waited a few minutes and then went out and followed the scent.

Thank God, Peter didn’t cover it.

It led quite a different amount of ways. Almost as if Peter had zigzagged his way to the clinic. Maybe to try and throw anyone off of his scent if they caught it. Derek would think this was a trap if he hadn’t done something to protect himself. But, spending years of living with Peter his scent was easy to track, even zigzagged all over Beacon Hills. Eventually, it led to the school. Which was strange, to say the least.

Once he got there he thought maybe the vault. But the scent led outside, to the back of the school. It went past the lacrosse field and into the woods. Until it just stopped. It didn’t go up or make any turns. It just stopped.

Derek sighed, maybe another of Peter’s defense tactics had shown up. He turned around to walk away but stopped when he heard it.

A creak.

Not the type of creak you would hear walking on dirt and twigs. But the kind you hear walking through a trap door. Derek smiled. There was something under him, he was standing on the door. He kneeled down and moved the dirt from the door. It was metal, and it had a lock just like the bunker. You needed claws to open it. Luckily, Derek had some of those.

He half shifted and placed his claws on the door and turned it. The door made an air pressured hiss and opened. Derek smiled and went down the steps. After he was down the steps he felt the walls for a light switch. He didn’t really need one half shifted, but the Preferred to be one hundred percent sure of his surroundings. Peter may or may not have set a trap. He eventually found one. It looked just like the vault, but he had never seen this part before, and he had been in the vault hundreds of times. There was a door at the end of the hallway he was in, and it had another lock on it, like the one on the original, he half shifted again and unlocked the door. As soon as he opened it, he heard a yell and felt a sharp pain in his right thigh, it happened so fast he couldn’t really process everything.

But he did process Stiles stabbing him in the leg with something.

“Stiles!” Derek yelled as he fell to the ground, and shifted back into his normal form.

“Oh my god Derek!” Stiles said, he was about to walk up to him, but he stopped in a half step. He remembered their conversation, he remembered Derek was a werewolf, and he remembered that Derek could be just as bad as Peter. So he backed away. As much as he wanted Derek to explain himself, he would rather get out of this basement bunker place, and be long gone by the time Peter gets back.

So he looked back to the door and then at Derek, and he made a decision.

He decided to go home.

By himself.

Stiles felt bad leaving Derek down there. Bedspring still jammed in this leg. It’d taken him all day to dig that out of the mattress, and then snap off and sharpen against the ground. It had taken a lot of patience and courage to wait for Peter to return silently.

It was hard enough trying to sit there as quietly as possible and not get restless especially since Stiles hadn’t had his Adderall in two days. But then there was the fact that Peter was a werewolf. And whoa, that was weird. If he didn’t still have the bruise on his neck he would have thought it was a hallucination or a bad dream or something. But it wasn’t that, and Peter said Derek was one too.

Stiles couldn’t trust either of them, not with the lies and the fact he just met the both of them, he had just been kidnapped, and he really needed to look out for his own safety. He liked Derek and all, but if he was a werewolf he would be fine, and if he wasn’t one… then he would still be fine. But Stiles can barely protect himself, he can’t handle all this conflict. So, he went straight home. He opened the front door, which was unlocked (He made a mental note to make sure to keep the doors and windows locked from now on) and walked straight in to find his day going over files.

“Dad,” Stiles said, a smile growing on his face. Most of his kidnapping had been more annoying than scary, he hadn’t cried for his father or anything, but he suddenly felt a weight of fear and tension lift from his shoulders when he saw his father’s face.

“Stiles, you’re back, I was beginning to think you were planning on staying at Scott's house forever.” The Sheriff said, standing up from the table and walked over to give Stiles a hug, but then plugged his nose with a grimace. “You didn’t even think to take a shower while you were over there?”

Stiles was confused for a moment and then he remembered. His father hadn’t thought Stiles was missing. He has been known to just take up residence over there a whole lot, and he was only gone for two days, it wasn’t like he was missing for a week, and honestly, even then it’s not that uncommon for Stiles to try to stay at Scott's house for that long. Stiles opened his mouth to say something, but the words were lost with his train of thought. Peter had no plans of getting arrested for kidnapping… who knows what he would do if Stiles told his dad.

It was neat and cleaned up. His absence was accounted for, and almost no trace of a crime apart from Stiles telling someone. Peter is this… monster straight out of a movie, and he was strong. What he could do wasn’t a question, because more than the average person was a given. Stiles got away, and Peter may just give up... he may realize Stiles is too much work and that maybe he should move on. If he doesn’t cause Peter trouble he may leave Stiles alone completely. It wasn’t very likely. Stiles had already underestimated Peter once, he wasn’t going to do it again. For now, he wouldn’t poke the beast. He would leave it all be, and if Peter decided to keep going after Stiles anyway, then he would tell his father, and they would go from there.

“I’ll go hop in the shower then,” Stiles said, faking a chuckle and quickly climbed up the steps and headed for his bedroom. He looked around his room, and quickly remembered to lock his window, then he went to the rest of the rooms in the house and made sure to lock those windows. Next step, he needed a plan for if Peter did decide to come after him. He needed something that would protect him. Peter was stupid strong. Stiles wasn’t any sort of match for him, and something had him thinking his baseball bat wasn’t going to be enough.  Then he remembered, there was that thing, something on his skin that made it so Derek couldn’t touch him. Peter had said something about it… something that was it called? There was the word wolf in it… maybe they are allergic to it, or it is some weird werewolf thing. But he needed to remember what it was called and try to find his way to get his hands on some. He would think about it while he was in the shower. Because no deodorant for two days did not smell too good.

He stripped and quickly rushed to the bathroom, and then into the shower. While he was washing his dad knocked on the bathroom door.

“Stiles, I have to head to the station now, there is leftover pizza in the fridge if- when you get hungry. You need anything else call me.”

“Okay, thanks see you later!” Stiles yelled back, and then the sheriff left to go to work.  Stiles finished washing his hair and he got out of the shower a while later. He brushed his teeth as he was drying his hair. Then he heard a knock on the front door.

He rolled his eyes, assuming it was his dad, who probably left something behind along with his ability to just put the key in the hole and open the door. This happened way more often than it should, Stiles doesn’t dare make any memory jokes or age jokes, you know… words have power and all that. So Stiles heads downstairs in his towel hanging loosely around his hips and opens his front door and… it is not his dad.

His dad is long gone to work.

But thank god it’s not Peter.

It’s Derek. Derek standing there, on his porch. Stiles didn’t know what to do or say. He sort of froze. It wasn’t fear, just merely surprise. He hadn’t seen Derek in two days but his thoughts had been about him constantly. How he wanted to know his side of things, about how Peter lied, and that Stiles wanted to believe Derek more than anything. There were so many things he wanted to say, so many questions to ask. At first, it was about the fire, and that girl Paige. But now it’s so much more. Werewolves. They are real. How? He wanted to ask how, and what else was real. He wanted to ask if Derek had started talking to him because of this packing thing that Peter is trying to create. He wanted to ask Derek what that meant what it all meant and how Stiles got pulled into this.

But with a million questions all fluttering around his head like butterflies on the loose, he was suddenly drawing a blank. Having so much to say, he couldn’t think of where to start. But thankfully Derek took action. He walked past the threshold of the front door, pushing Stiles a few steps back into the house so he could close the door behind them. Then once it was closed and locked, he kissed Stiles. One hand going to the back of Stiles’ neck, the other going to his waist and pulled him close. Their lips met, and Stiles melted. Derek’s kiss was encompassing Stiles’ everything. The heat from Derek travels all over him, and in him. It made Stiles just lose every thought in his head. Stiles parted his lips to breathe and Derek’s tongue slipped into his mouth and Stiles moaned.

They fiercely made out right there, in Stiles’ living room, they had been shoving their tongues into each other’s mouth, the kiss was hot, and getting hotter every second. Stiles wasn’t sure when they started moving but he now felt a wall on his back. Stiles gave a final moan and put his head down so it was on Derek’s chest. He had to remind himself how to breathe. Derek eventually pulled back from Stiles hesitantly.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry to just walk in here. I know you don’t trust me, but we need to talk.”

Stiles sighed and stepped back. Shaking his head to clear it. He was clearly not ready for the talk. He was hot and hard, and he was thinking with his downstairs brain right now. Like who does that? Who just walks up to someone and doesn’t even say hello, they just tongue fuck your mouth instead of a normal greeting.

“Derek… I think you should leave.” Stiles said.

  “Stiles, I have to talk to you. I need to explain myself. I know I said yes, about what Peter said but there is a lot more to the story.” Derek said, wrapping his hands around his hips, pulling him close again.

“Derek… I know what you are… and god!” Stiles sighs because he caught himself staring at Derek’s lips. “Why are you so hot?” Stiles asks, scratching his scalp trying to clear his head again.

Derek smiled, because Stiles was back in his own home and safe, at that feeling of relief just had him thinking he never wanted to let Stiles out of his sight again, simply to keep him safe from Peter or anyone else who is thinking of harming Stiles. “I know, I’m a murderer, but the situation may change how you feel. Paige… she begged me to die… she was in so much pain, it was all my fault. I was dumb, and an impulsive teenager worried about losing my girlfriend because of how different we were. I made a decision, a stupid and bad decision. It all went wrong and caused her so much pain, and she wanted it all to stop. So I stopped it. Then there is the family fire, gosh, I was stupid, I went against my family’s interest and safety for selfish reasons, and because of this bad choice, they died. The house caught fire and after one night was an orphan. I have made lots of mistakes that ended with death, and I’m sorry, but I want you to know, there was no maliciousness in it. It was all bad decisions that I have learned from.”

Stiles nodded and listened. He took it in, because it sounded better than before, but still not great. Derek… Derek still killed this Paige girl. Maybe it wasn’t murder, at least wasn’t in the maliciousness way, but he still would go to jail in the eyes of the law. Maybe this girl should have been taken to a hospital, besides that doesn’t explain why her death was hidden from the police. Derek lied, that’s why, about death or murder or whatever they decide to call it. Then the fire, the fire that killed all of Derek’s family, except three. How does someone make a mistake that huge? Leaving a candle on in the bedroom? The article says arson. Someone started that fire on purpose. You don’t accidentally start a fire on purpose, he needed more of an explanation than that.

He didn’t want to need more of an explanation. He wanted to kiss as soon as he opened his door to be a normal thing, he wanted Derek to be a normal thing in his life. Stiles wanted Derek to become part of his routine, but that requires trust. Stiles wants to trust Derek, a part of him already did. But Stiles wouldn’t be able to trust himself if he put faith in the wrong person again.

“Derek… I know about you and your uncle. What you two are.”

Derek looked at Stiles confused because he knew that He and Peter were family and that they clearly had problems with each other than the whole Laura and kidnapping situation. Other than that he was coming up with a blank.

“What do you mean?”

“I know that you’re a werewolf.”

_

Peter was livid when he got back to the vault. First, he smelt Derek’s scent all over the place. It was strong. Derek bled there. Why? He didn’t know or care. All he cared about was Stiles’ absence. He wasn’t done with him yet, and Deaton had proved somewhat useful. He had been stalling. Peter had known that about five minutes after he got there. But he had stuck around because he was getting what he came for.

He learned about the books after a while. But he eventually got the books away from the druid. He got some information, some books that proved mostly useless, but there was one, with information on Sparks. Like how their power works.

It originates from a belief system, affected by emotion and physical state. The ability is there inside them that is dormant, every spark needs the first initial reaction to release their abilities. Something that sets them off to the point where they tap into it themselves. There are many numbers of emotions that can set it off. Fear, anger, love, lust, euphoria etc. It needs to be an intense and overwhelming feeling.

Peter was excited to begin to give Stiles a number of those emotions to see which works the fastest. Once he did that he would have given Stiles two truths. Werewolves and Sparks. Not to mention he already discredited Derek and Stiles’ mind. It would be easy to begin working on the bond. It would make them pack without Stiles having to be turned. Peter didn’t know what effect that would have on Stiles’ dormant Spark powers so he was going to avoid it for now. Better safe than sorry right?

But now Stiles wasn’t in the vault, and he didn’t have time to kidnap him and earn some kind of good points with him. Not with everything going smoothly. The sheriff would notice Stiles going missing again if he went home. Which Peter suspected Stiles would have gone first after he was free.

Which meant that he was going to have to do this, with Stiles having the more free will than Peter would have liked him to have.

_

Derek stood there stunned. Because the word Werewolves had come out of Stiles’ mouth and he wasn’t sure why.

“What?” Derek asked because he needed to hear it again because his hearing must be failing him.

“I know you’re a werewolf,” Stiles repeated with more confidence this time. He knew it, he wasn’t crazy. Peter told him, Peter showed him. All that strength, all that… change, that transformation. Peter wasn’t human, and he was sure Derek wasn’t either.

“Oh… yo- yo- you… How? How do you..?” Derek asked, trying to get his brain to work again because it doesn’t seem to process this correctly.

“Peter told me…” Stiles said. He didn’t know how this conversation was going to go. Suddenly he was worried. Maybe Derek would kill him since he knew. Maybe Derek would run away, leave beacon hills forever. Maybe he would stay. All scenarios made Stiles worry. He didn’t have a death wish that’s for sure. But he didn’t want Derek to leave. Even now in his worry even when he knew that he shouldn’t trust Derek, that he was someone who Stiles didn’t know very well he wanted to get to know Derek, he wanted to learn the type of person that he was. He wanted Derek to earn his trust, he wanted him to at least try.

Which lead to the last worry.

What would happen if Derek stayed? Would he gain Stiles’ complete trust? Would they date and be happy, getting past whatever Peter was doing. What would happen if all went well? Derek was this… werewolf… he was older, and this mystery. Could Stiles have a future with him? Someone he met all the wrong ways. Getting alcohol, hiding it from his dad, now an uncle who wants to kidnap him. Everything is so wrapped up, and it’s this snowball of crap and for some reason, it keeps getting thrown at Stiles.

“Listen, I don’t know what Peter has said to you these last two days but he can’t be true-“

“He showed me, Derek… He- his face changed, and his eyes glowed, he lifted me up by the neck with one hand. I still have the bruises on my neck. I know, and I know you are one too… I don’t know what the wolf stuff was on my skin, but neither you nor Peter could touch me while I had it. So I’m guessing it is a werewolf repellent of some kind… so I know you are one too. So, please don’t try to lie to me.” Stiles said.

“Okay, I won’t lie,” Derek said, thinking for a moment. “Stiles I didn’t want you to find out like that. I honestly, I don’t know if I wanted you to find out at all. This is something dangerous, sadly it’s who I am. People fear me for it, people have hunted me for it, and so far it hasn’t boded well with my relationships. But since you know it makes it easier to explain.” Derek took a deep breath. “Can we sit down?” He asked. Stiles nodded, and they moved over to the couch in the living room.

“Okay, so what are you explaining?”

“I’m explaining what happened with Paige. I fell in love with her, and she with me. But I got insecure, a stupid impulsive teenager. I was worried that because of what I am, I was going to lose her. I thought a number of things could have gone wrong. I would outlive her, she would find what I was and leave me. Or she would get hurt because she was so much weaker than me. Then I got the idea… I would turn her into a werewolf like me.”

“Wait… so you can turn people into werewolves?”

“Yes, it’s a bit complicated to explain, but a bite from a certain type of werewolf would turn you.”

“Wow… Were you turned?”

“No, I was born, so was Peter, and everyone else in my family.”

“Wow… so you had Paige bit?”

“Yes, in my head having her get the bite meant that I wouldn’t have to worry about her being weak, or me outliving her, or anything else. In my head, it solved all of my problems. But in the real world that’s not how things go. I arraigned for her to be turned, but I had changed my mind because suddenly I realized everything that was wrong with the idea. She had no idea what I was, and I was having her turn not knowing if that was something she even wanted.”

“So she didn’t get the bite?” Stiles asked confused.

“I was too late… I didn’t stop it in time.”

“Oh. So if she was turned then why did you kill her?” Stiles asked it sounded a little blunt after it was out of his mouth but there was no going back, besides it was true.

“Because it didn’t turn her. Sometimes turning someone can be fatal, their body rejects it, and they end up in pain. Great searing pain, you are stuck like that until you die. She was suffering in my arms, choking on her own blood, and she asked me, she said she just wanted it to stop. So I stopped it.”

It changed things. Lots of things. Derek wasn’t some serial killer teen in the making. He was a kid who made a bad decision and he had to deal with the consequences, right there in his arms. Stiles couldn’t be mad at Derek for that. Sure, Stiles had never killed anyone before, but he had made thousands of mistakes in his life. Derek is older now, he looks like he really learned from it. He didn’t think Derek was lying, it was a solid story aside from the fact that Werewolves were involved, but Stiles had seen the proof. They were real, and this story… it was real.

Derek was telling the truth. He was, Stiles had complete and utter faith in him.  It was a great feeling. Derek was the one to trust. Stiles trusted him.

“You’re really quiet,” Derek said Stiles hadn’t realized how long it had been since anyone said anything.

“Yeah. Just processing. Why didn’t you tell me all this before… when I asked about it at the school.” Stiles asked. Derek sighed and held his head in his hands for a moment, then looked up.

“It was shocking, I wasn’t expecting those questions, I wasn’t ready to give you real answers. Besides even if I had It would have probably been lies. I couldn’t just out and explain werewolves. I wasn’t sure I could share that with you, but you already knowing makes it a lot easier.”

“Easier than me thinking you were some murderer and you were trying to kill me. I trusted Peter because of that. I ran to him basically, even though something didn’t feel right, it just- it hurt thinking you were someone that bad, that could do something as horrible as Peter explained it, and then to hear it from your mouth. A confession… it just stung.”

“I’m sorry. Really, I am, I wasn’t prepared for that, and I didn’t want to lie, so I just said yes, I couldn’t explain it. I was stunned. That’s all I had. But now you know, and I hope you can trust me eventually again, but I understand if you can’t.”

Stiles smiled. “I already do.”

 


	16. "If you're a Werewolf why do you need glasses?"

“I already do” Stiles smiled, softly, and Derek kissed him, he pulled him into a kiss and kissed him like it was the first time he’d seen Stiles in years. Stiles loved every second of it. Derek was in complete control and Stiles could get very used to that. They laid back on the couch, because who doesn’t like kissing horizontal?

Derek’s hands raked over Stiles body, and he was all for it. Derek’s hands were warm and large. They made Stiles feel safer than they probably should, now that he knows Derek could probably crush him like a bug without breaking a sweat.

But somehow it was affirming. Instead of fearing it, he saw it as a way Derek would be able to protect him from more threats than the average person. Stiles pulled his head back and looked Derek in the eyes.

 “Why can’t I be scared of you?” Stiles asked. “Every time I’m put in a situation with you, where I have to use my head -that tells me to run by the way- or this feeling that tells me that I should give you a chance; that I should trust you. Why?”

Derek smiles.

“I had this feeling when I first saw you in that parking lot. I was just drawn to you.” Derek paused as if sorting his words. “As a werewolf, I can smell things from far away. I can hear things as well, and when I turned the corner, I was hit with your scent. Which was strange because you weren’t even outside, you were in your car. Just… something about it. Made me feel like I had to talk to you.”

“I do dumb things around you. I get out of my jeep prepared to have sex with a complete stranger even when I had never had sex before. Then I gave you my number even though I’m too young for you.”

“Sixteen’s the age of consent.” Derek threw in.

“You know that’s not how it works,” Stiles says chuckling. “I can date anyone up to eighteen, that’s the cutoff. We both knew that, but we ignored it. We let that be the simple explanation so we could be together.”

“What are you getting at?”

“I like you, a lot. But, it’s starting to scare me how much I’m letting it affect my judgment. How I’m blindly trusting you off of little facts.”

“Maybe you can sense my intentions. You can see there is nothing to fear from me.”

“I’m not that good a reading people. Besides, I think the sense is a werewolf perk, not a human one.”

“Well, what if you weren’t just human?”

“Um, I don’t know, but I am just human. Which also means, your excessive body heat can only keep me warm for so long before I need to put on actual clothing.” Stiles said, pushing at Derek’s chest so he could get up. But Derek was like a brick wall. “Come on, let me up.” Stiles wined.

“I will. But… Did Peter ever mention… anything to you?”

“Like what? Werewolves?” Stiles said rolling his eyes, and crossing his arms. He was lying anyway, Derek could totally warm Stiles up forever.

“Anything about a man named Deaton? Or sparks?”

“Deaton? Like the vet?” Stiles asked.

“Yeah him.”

“No Peter never mentioned him, why? Is he a werewolf too?”

“No. He’s something else.”

“Like what? Oh, this is so cool. He’s Scott’s boss I see him all the time.”

“It’s a lot to explain, I will someday…” Derek sighed and looked over Stiles one more time before he sat up. Stiles shivered at the loss of body heat. “You should get dressed.”

“Sure thing.” Stiles clutched his towel around him and ran up the stairs. He threw on boxers, a pair of sweatpants and t-shirt, and tries not to realize how oddly normal it was to be naked around Derek. Yeah, he had a towel on the goods, but still. He should have gotten dressed immediately. Or threw on pants before he opened the door.

He shakes it off and goes back downstairs, Derek still sitting on the couch waiting for him.

“If you are a werewolf, why do you need glasses?” Stiles asked, Derek chuckles.

 “Being a werewolf does give certain perks. Like fast healing, we can’t get most diseases, longer life spans. But it doesn’t stop minor things. Like height, hair color, and eyesight. If it’s not an injury, it’s not going to be healed.”

“Oh. That’s cool.” Stiles says laughing. Because how can you be a scary werewolf with glasses on?

“Yeah. I should go. I need to find Peter and… and stop him.” Something in the way that Derek stopped himself made Stiles just know what his plan was.

“…Do you mean to kill him?”

“Will you think any differently of me if I give you the answer to that?”

“I don’t know,” Stiles said looking down at his hands.

“He killed Laura, and he will kill others. Either to prove a point or because they get in his way. He’s too strong to be left to just roam around, especially when I know he’s after you.”

“Death is just… It’s so final. There are other ways you know.”

“Any prison or trial Peter goes into, he will escape, or walk out free. Explain your defense to him as a werewolf. It’s my only option.”

“Just because it’s the only one you see doesn’t mean that’s it, and it doesn’t make it right.” 

Derek didn’t say anything else about it. Just his goodbyes and that was it. Stiles closed the door and locked it. He went upstairs and fell back on his bed and thought about it.

Werewolves, crazy uncles, murder, sexual discoveries. It went from nothing happening in Beacon Hills to him turning into some teenage fantasy drama. Apart from it being stressful… it was kind of fun. He smiled and fell asleep.

_

Stiles pulled his jeep up to the parking lot and got out. He saw Derek’s car, but no Derek inside of it. He walked up to the car and looked around.

“Derek?” He yelled out looking around for him.

“I’m here,” Derek said a few seconds later, coming out from a path.

“Hey,” Stiles said with a smile.

“Hey,” Derek said back, walking up to him and pulling him in close. “I missed you.”

“I missed you too. I am also pretty sure you wouldn’t have died, if you called me like, more than once in the last two weeks. Like I’m not the one out and about looking for a psychotic werewolf. I need updates that you are alive.”

“I’m sorry, I will work on that. I promise.”

“Good. Now, why are we here, and not in the comfort of my dad-less home?”

“Because I wanted to go on a walk,” Derek said chuckling. He grabbed Stiles’ hand and directed him over to the path. “Come on.” And they began to walk the path.

 “I love the woods,” Derek said taking a deep breath.

“Yeah, this is like your natural habitat,” Stiles said nodding and looking around Stiles had to admit that it was very nice out. He never was one for the woods. He was all limbs, and he always managed to injure himself on a walk in the preserve with Scott as a kid. He’s gone in less and less over the years, only going in for specific reasons. Derek gave Stiles a halfhearted glare out of the corner of his eyes and Stiles took it a little seriously. “That wasn’t like insulting or anything was it? I don’t know wolf etiquette.”

“Well, I wouldn’t really say there is a wolf etiquette. It’s the same as what you’d expect from someone else.”

“Oh, well I tend to talk too much and get myself into trouble with normal people, so I’m screwed either way.”

Derek laughed. “I’m sure it’s not that bad.”

“Oh, please take my word for it, it’s horrible.”

“If you say so.”

Derek and Stiles were holding hands taking a walk in the woods. It was along a trail in the preserve. They were totally being a sappy cute couple, and Stiles loved every single second of it.

“So how’s school?” Derek asked. Stiles smiled and thought about it. School had felt normal. Nothing new or exciting happened. Mr. Harris was still a jerk. Scott is still in love with Allison, Lydia still tolerates him. It’s almost like school repeated itself. Which come on… it’s school.

Then he took a step that didn’t land on the ground. Before he could process it enough to stop his foot from moving, he heard a clink, and then a snap. The pain took a second to register, when it did, it hit Stiles hard. He looked down at his leg. Barely still together, a trap had snapped and calmed is ankle down. he screamed, he screamed and cried.

His body couldn’t support him anymore and he fell. Derek was bent down next to him in seconds.

“Oh, oh my god! Stiles… don’t move, it might make it worse… I don’t think I should take it off your ankle or you might bleed out. I’ll call nine-one-one, give me a second.” Derek reaches into his pocket to grab his phone. His hands are shaking. At least Stiles thinks they are. He might just be the one shaking, it was hard to tell behind the pain, the screaming, and the tears. He felt like he might pass out. He hoped he would. It would at least get him away from the pain with any amount of time, which sounded like a good idea.

Stiles didn’t know how long he shook and cried before he realizes he didn’t see any movement from Derek other than putting his hand in his pocket. He looked at the face of confused pain. Derek was completely stilled. His head turned a certain way, tilted almost, kind of reminding him of a dog.

“What what are you doing?” Stiles asked.

Derek stood and looked around, serious expression painting his face, covering his previous worried panicked face. “Someone’s out there.”

That’s the last thing Derek said before he was tackled by a large black figure that legit came from nowhere. Stiles was sure it fell from the sky because he hadn’t heard it coming. Derek and this… this beast tussled and fought. It was like a bear, with the legs of a wolf, and red eyes of something inhuman… that couldn’t be some kind of werewolf, could it?

There was growling and roaring, slashing and clawing, even some bites and punches. He heard whimpers of pain… mostly coming from Derek.

Sadly, the fear and adrenaline weren’t enough to get Stiles over the pain for even a second, and he sat there scared and helpless, with no idea what to do or how to help. His leg was bleeding and radiating pain, and he was sure even if Derek somehow killed or scared off this beast Stiles wouldn’t make it out of the situation alive. Or with both of his legs.

He just wanted it to stop. He cried, he cried in pain because he kept moving, he couldn’t sit still he was scared and it was causing him pain.

He wanted the pain to stop. He wanted the bleeding to stop. He wanted the fighting to stop. He wanted the fear to stop.

Only one of those stopped.

There was the distinct lack of leaves rustling, lack of skin ripping and slashing. Lack of roars and whimpers. Stiles looked behind him to where the fighting had ended up last he knew and he saw something that made his stomach drop.

Derek laid limp on the ground. Blood pooling around him… and all over his neck…. His neck… his neck was slashed open. He wasn’t breathing anymore.

The beast stood looking directly at Stiles, like a cat getting ready to pounce prey.

Derek was dead.

And Stiles was next. He couldn’t move, he was bleeding, he was no match….

And Derek was Fucking Dead!

The beast charged at Stiles. 

Stiles wanted it all to stop it all needed to stop. Right now, at this very moment, and he yelled it with all the power of his lungs.

Then he opened his eyes.

_

Peter waited until nightfall to make any moves. Knowing Derek and his caring predictable self, he was definitely going to make sure that Stiles was okay before even thinking about going after Peter. Which gave him time to make a new plan. Peter’s end goal would stay the same. Make a large pack, and take over Beacon hills. Make a name for the hales once again.

He could find betas walking down the street, and they are Druids everywhere. But sparks were rare. A spark in the making was beyond rare. This might just be the first one to ever be found. Sparks are as strong-willed as they are powerful.

Stiles was in mint condition, never even taken out the wrapping. Peter could manipulate him. All he needed was for Stiles to be emotionally vulnerable, and for Peter to seem like his only option. Once Stiles depends on him, then he will continue to do it.

He will look to Peter as someone he can trust. Or at least someone he has to trust. Then he could focus on getting some Betas. Once nightfall hit, he went to the Stilinski household.

He could smell that Derek had been there, but he wasn’t there anymore. He circled the house until he was standing beneath Stiles’ bedroom window. He used his sense to try and see what Stiles was doing. When he heard a steady stream of snores, he found that Stiles was sleeping. So he smiled and climbed up the panels until he got to the window, and he tested it. Checking to see if it was unlocked; what luck for him that it was.

Peter smirked but still managed to tsk as he stepped in. Stiles should really have known better. Maybe he thought Derek was going to come in and cuddle up to him. Maybe he knew that it was futile to worry about locks when you were running from a werewolf.

He stood over the snoring boy and contemplated what he was going to do. Taking him again was already crossed off the list. Manipulation was going to be hard now that he was safe and in a stable environment. He had Derek, no doubt they made up, he has his friends and his father around. All aiding his mental strength.

He needed to break Stiles mentally. Force him to feel unstable even at home. Make something, some issue that only he can fix. Or something at least that he can convince Stiles that only he can fix. Then he got an idea and smiled. To mess with Stiles without the interference of time, and his pesky friends and family, he could skip the middleman and worm his way straight into Stiles’ head.

Hell, he may even be able to set Stiles off.

_

Stiles’ room was an absolute complete mess.

Like more of a mess than it was before.

A lot more.

Items had flown off of his shelf and desk, ending up on the floor. Some items that Stiles was sure that were on the floor had managed on his bed, handles of doors Like his room had been stirred like dry contents in a mixing bowl. His head hurt, pain radiating from his neck. His heartbeat was going crazy, and he still felt the arms of fear wrapped around him.

Derek…  was he okay? What was that thing? His leg. Stiles looked down at his foot and saw no blood, no scar, nothing. It had all been a dream. But what happened to his room. Even his blanket had been tossed clear across the way. He heard something move to his right. Fear still clutching him, he jumps and almost snapped his neck trying to look at whatever was causing the noise next to him.

Stiles had every right to be scared. It was Peter.

He climbed off his bed to the left, making it some semblance of a barrier between them. He’s sure Peter would have smirked, but he had another look in his eye… Like wonder. Was that the word for it? No. Amazement. Shock. Pleasantly surprised? Lust?

It was like how a little kid looks at their ice cream being scooped into a waffle cone for them.

“I- you did it,” Peter said smiling. It wasn’t an evil smile… well, every smile Peter has is at least ten percent evil. But it seemed at least 80% genuine. Okay, 70. It was creeping Stiles out.

“What? What are you talking about? Why are you here?”

“I triggered your spark.”

_

Looking for Peter was futile, Derek should just wait for him to show up, and enact his plan. The only problem was Derek didn’t know what that plan was. His interest in Stiles was concerning. But Stiles was back home, and him disappearing a second time would not go unnoticed. So unless Peter was desperate- which he didn’t like to show- he wouldn’t be taking Stiles forcefully again. Even then Derek was still going to check on Stiles once in a while.

So second step. Inside of chasing, stop and think. Peter wanted Stiles, but he didn’t want to kill him. Peter wanted Derek dead, but it wasn’t such a priority that he actually just outright went out of his way and killed him. Peter also wanted to be a part of society, which is why he didn’t want to publically commit crimes.

He’s making roots. He’s planning on staying, and he wants to wedge himself between Derek and Stiles because Stiles is a spark, that makes him the top priority. Which means, Derek didn’t need to go far from Stiles. Just enough to make Peter think he wasn’t there.

He stayed at a good distance from the house but in hearing range. He didn’t get any closer despite that need to protect Stiles. But everything pointed to the fact, that Peter didn’t want to hurt him. His fingers itched when he first heard Peter open the window to Stiles’ room. He was cautious, but if he gave himself away too soon, Peter would have a chance to prepare for a fight. Derek intended to win this one, and he would need all the advantage he could get.

It was after a sudden loud noise coming from Stiles’ room, that sounded dangerously close to an explosion that Derek decided to make his move. Running for the house, quickly up the drainpipe and through the window. It took all of three seconds to locate Peter, and then it took two more to tackle him and they were both rolling.

He really did have the element of surprise. Peter was in the middle of speaking which is why he didn’t hear Derek on his way in. Now they were there, on the ground, Clawing, biting, and throwing each other around.

Stiles’ hands were shaking as he looked at the fight. He wanted to do something but he was frozen in… in some kind of fear. He felt out of control for some reason, like his body suddenly weak. He didn’t trust his hands to make a fist if he wanted to.

Derek made a heavy slash at Peters' chest which caused him to cry out.

Peter was stronger, and he knew he’d heal, but if the fight continued this way, he knew Derek’s upper hand would cause him to win.

He spent the rest of his energy getting out of Derek’s reach, and separating himself from the situation.

Running, in Derek’s opinion.

Derek went running right after him. Getting Peter to this point was luck and good planning. He was finishing this tonight, no matter what.

Stiles stood there, in that spot next to his bed. Hands still shaking, even as the two leave his room through the window.

He keeps thinking he should do something, but should he? This isn’t his fight; he shouldn’t be getting pulled into other people’s fights like this. He’s- he’s supposed to be a normal teenager, doing normal teenager things. Occasionally breaking the rules getting drunk with his friends.

Getting his first awkward blind touches playing seven minutes in heaven.

He shouldn’t be doing this.

He shouldn’t be waking up in the middle of the night to Peter standing over him like he’s ready to deal out the bad touch. He shouldn’t be invading Stiles’ mind like this. Stiles has ADHD, he barely has enough control over his ever hyperactive mind as is, other people shouldn’t just be able to- to do whatever the hell Peter did.

He shouldn’t be in life or death situations.

He should be worrying about college and his jeep. He should still be in love with Lydia Martin. It was hard, and a waste of time, but he was safe then. He was- he was normal experiencing normal heartbreak.  Now he worried if Derek or Peter were going to come out of this fight alive. Who should have to worry about these things?

And why were his hands still shaking?

He looked down at them and gasped at the sight.

-

Derek had caught up to Peter with a tackle, this was the angle Derek had needed. Keep Peter off his feet. Let gravity add to his own strength and help everything out. Derek also lets adrenaline guide him. He could feel the pains in his side and arms. Peter was putting up a hell of a fight.

Peter was stronger and conniving. But Derek was angry. Peter was fighting for a plan, an idea that could be written on paper. Derek was fighting for people. For Laura, for Stiles, and for anyone else who would suffer if Peter gets to run free unchecked.

Anger was Derek’s anchor for so long, and it would be the thing that kept him going for as long as he needed.

Peter did an unexpected punch right to Derek’s jaw, causing him to lose balance. Peter used the moment to flip them, shifting the advantage between the two, and wrapping his hand around Derek’s neck. Claws digging in the sides painfully with the grip effectively. Choking Derek.

“You should have known better than to think you could take me. I’m an alpha.” He flashed his eyes, blood red, gloating. It made Derek sick just to look at them. Just to look at the man his Uncle has become. There used to be a time when they were more than Uncle and Nephew. They were actually friends. Sadly, so many things can change with tragedy. 

“At least you put up a good fight. Maybe I’ll let Stiles know that when I bring him your head. After all, I just need to push him a little farther to break his spirit. It’s almost sad. He’s got so much potential, but right now he’s just a teenager. Just a human, fragile. Don’t worry about him though. I will take good care of him. Make him my second in the pack.”

The edges of Derek’s vision started to fade. But Peter should have known better than to gloat before the job was actually finished. Instead of using his hands to claw at Peter’s hands, he used them for the offensive.

One hand he used to scratch at Peter’s face, going for the eyes. Peter quickly put a stop to that, grabbing his hand by the wrist and pinning it. With that moment of distraction Derek used his other balling it into a fist, and with all of his might, drove it straight through Peter’s chest.

Everything seemed to move in slow motion after that. Peter’s eyes widened with the pain, the grip on Derek’s neck loosened and he didn’t hesitate to move from under Peter knocking him over onto the ground.

Even an alpha would need lots of time to recover from a hole in the chest. Derek didn’t plan on letting him get that far anyway.

He stood over Peter as he struggled for breath.

“I’m sorry, Peter. I’m sorry about Kate, and the fire. I’m sorry about everyone who died. I’m sorry you were locked inside yourself for so long that it drove you to this. I’m sorry that you’ve grown to hate me.”

It just felt right to apologize. Like a weight finally lifted off his chest. He drew his claws back out and decided to end the suffering, with a quick but deep slash to the neck.

The red in Peter’s eyes grew bright with his last breaths, and then slowly faded.

Derek could feel the power surging through him. It tickled through his skin, and he felt the warmth behind his eyelids.

He could actually feel the speed of his wounds healing faster. He sat there, breathing and letting his body have its break, mending itself.

Peter’s dead. The threat is over.

Now there’s only two Hales left alive in the world.

“Oh, how the mighty have fallen,” Derek whispers to himself bitterly. After the worst of his wounds have turned into nothing but some pretty bad scars, he stands, dragging Peter’s body away, from any capable prying eyes. He takes him deep into the woods and burns the body.

It’s better than burying him. This way it will be harder for someone to happen to him. Nature will deal with the bones that are left behind. He just finds himself too tired to do anything more.

The suns starting to rise, and the sky’s faintly turning light blue.

He considers going home and washing away all the grime, but he thinks it might do some good to let Stiles know the threat has been dealt with. He climbs back up to the window and knocks lightly before coming in. it’s best not to frighten him considering how he left in a brawl before.

“Stiles.” He says as he crawls in. “I just wanted to let you know that Peter’s-”

The words just stop. Stiles is standing exactly where he was when Derek came in here before. He’s facing the exact same way as before too.

Has he really not moved an inch this whole time?

He was gone at least an hour. He stayed until Peter’s body was nothing but a pile of char and bones. They fought for a good while as well. Hell, the sun is coming up now.

Derek didn’t even notice before but the room is very much different. There were shirts hanging from the ceiling fan. How did that get up there? Papers and books all over the floor. His chair was even across the room, knocked over. It was as if someone had shaken his room like a snow globe.

“Stiles?” Derek said, louder this time, to draw his attention. It helped, snapping Stiles out of whatever trance he seemed to be in.

“D-Derek. We need to- to get Peter he needs to fix this.”

“Peter can’t fix anything, he’s dead.”

Stiles fully turned to face him, and now Derek sees what exactly had Stiles’ attention for the last hour. From his hands, hundreds of little bits of bright white sparks danced from his hands and fizzled out before they touched the ground. It was so bight it almost looked blue. It emanated a glow of light around Stiles and it was beautiful as much as it was concerning. The same color of the sparks glowed from Stiles’ eyes, fading in and out, over and over again.

“What did he do to me?” 

“He triggered your spark.”


End file.
